Catching Fire
by LillysMasquerade
Summary: Jace and Alec are keeping a secret. Now that Valentine is in town, threatening everyone they love, the stakes are higher than ever. What will they do to protect their families? AU/AH/Clace/Malec/Simabelle Rated M. Read & Review. Now complete!
1. When all hell breaks loose

Hi! So this is my first story and I'm really excited about it! I think the tradition is to tell you guys that I don't own the Mortal Instruments (they belong to Cassandra Clare) but I do own the story and the plot so I don't want it reproduced or translate without my permission. Please do review (English is not my native language and I'm more than happy to hear about what you think).

Love, Lilly.

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><p><strong>Prologue: When All Hell Breaks Loose<strong>

The infirmary was depressing, Jace Herondale thought. It felt more like you were going to die there rather than be saved. Everything was white and silver, the medical equipment, the curtains on the window and the neon bright light hurting his eyes. He had been there, lying on the small uncomfortable bed, for almost an hour and his feet were fidgeting quicker and quicker as his patience wore thinner and thinner. He had better things to do than wait.

The bruises on his chest were extensive, although it looked worse than it actually was. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this one. Clary would just freak. The thought made him sigh as he ran a hand through his blond hair, closing his eyes.

"So, how's our acrobat doing?"

Jace sat up straight, his mouth perked up in a grin. Alec was slouched against the glass wall, turning over a small object in his hands. His black hair was still dripping with water and he had changed clothes. Jace shrugged, slightly grimacing as pain shot up his chest.

"It was pretty stupid you know?" Alec continued, his blue eyes staring lazily at him. "Even for you."

"What can I say, I like a good sport." Jace stood up and went over the first aid kit, searching for any kind of pain medication he could find. He gulped down a tall glass of cold water with a couple pills.

"Clary is going to freak out when she sees you like this."

Jace's grin instantly vanished. He glanced at his watch. Alec was right, of course, he knew that. He usually didn't need much work finding plausible excuses for the small cuts on his face and hands he came home with sometimes, but this – he suspected he had a broken rib – would need a massive lie. The prospect of lying his way out wasn't appealing at all. He shook his head trying to focus on one thing at a time, starting with the pain that would soon slowly fade.

"Plus, Jules' pissed," Alec added with a half grin.

"Can we go now?" Jace asked. "Where's Hodge, anyway?"

"I don't know," he answered.

A noise in the distance suddenly caught their attention – a door closing in a loud bang at the end of the hallway. Both their heads snapped up at the sound of heels clicking against the tiles.

"Jules?" Jace suggested.

"No. She was on her way to the DCS' office. No way she'd make it back that fast."

"Then who—? Oh dear Lord," Jace whispered as a blond head popped through the door.

"Hey there!"

He cursed under his breath as Aline slipped inside. With one look-over, Jace could see way more than he wanted to. Her skirt – in addition to having been shortened once more (as if it would get his attention –which it didn't) – was rumpled, as was the white transparent blouse she was wearing. Dark lines circled her eyes; so a long night, probably because of an op somewhere in Europe. She had dyed her hair again to match his color but hadn't succeeded yet, and he could smell her perfume from where he was (the exact same perfume he had bought for Clary in Paris a few weeks back); so a long night and still infatuated with him, he gathered.

"What do you want, Penhallow?" Jace asked, grabbing his cell phone from the jacket that had been thrown on the floor when the nurses had rushed him in before disappearing to the coffee machine. Five messages, all from Clary. He pressed a button and stuck the phone between his head and his shoulder, putting on a clean shirt while Aline was openly undressing him with her eyes. His attention was nonetheless completely absorbed as soon as Clary's voice filled the speaker.

"I just heard you were back. I just wanted to know if you were okay, that's all," Aline explained with an innocent look that made Alec want to hit her.

"Of course," he muttered. "And without any ulterior motive I suppose."

Aline spun on her heels, shooting him the most evil look he'd ever seen. "What are you implying, Lightwood?" she spat.

"Yeah, what are you implying Alec?" Jace repeated, grinning as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

"Never mind," he whispered, waving her accusations off.

"I'm fine," Jace answered.

"Oh good," she said, as if she had expected him to say something else. "If you need anything, don't hesitate," she added, wobbling on her platform heels as she walked out of the room. Jace and Alec sighed.

"You think she'll ever understand?" Alec asked, warily.

"Not in a million years," Jace chuckled, buttoning his shirt. "I'm irresistible."

Alec rolled his eyes. "You're stupid and arrogant, that's what you are."

Jace smirked. "Let's go."

The hallways were deserted as the two men made their way out of the infirmary in silence. The noises seemed to bounce against the walls and the ceiling, giving them a strange feeling of being either watched or followed. Finally, Alec spoke up.

"It was him, wasn't it?" he asked. "The man on the roof of the factory? That's what got you distracted."

"I don't get distracted," Jace replied.

"Jace! Stop being an ass. Was it him or not?"

Jace nodded. Alec shook his head, silently processing the information. His hands were clenched in tight fists at his sides.

"How long do you think it'll take, exactly?" Alec asked. "Before you realize that you're playing with fire here."

"Until I catch him. Then it'll all be over. Simple."

"Right. He's bound to figure out who you are —who _we_ are– you know. And when he does, all hell is going to break loose. And then everyone we love is going to pay for our mistakes: Magnus, Clary, my sister... None of them are ever going to be safe again. We should let Jules handle it."

For a split second he saw what Alec meant. He saw Clary — his sweet and innocent Clary — laying on their bedroom's floor, bathed in a pool of her own blood, the soft lines of her child-like face contorted in an expression of utter terror, her green eyes wide and glassy, and her red hair like a sun in a deep red sky.

"I'll put a bullet in Morgenstern's brain before that happens."

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><p>R&amp;R I want to know if I should continue posting or not!<p>

See ya!


	2. Welcome to NYC, Valentine Morgenstern

Hey! I worked faster than anticipated for you guys so here it is, the first chapter. As I said yesterday I don't own the MI series. And thanks for the review and continue telling me what you think, if you have ideas for later chapters do tell –I have a few ideas myself already.

Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Welcome to New York, Valentine Morgenstern<strong>

"_True to your heart  
>You must be true to your heart<br>That's when the heavens will part  
>And baby shower you with my love<br>Open your eyes  
>Your heart can tell you no lies<br>And when you're true to your heart  
>I know it's gonna lead you straight to<br>me_"

She found that the smell of coffee and pancakes was sweetly satisfying after having to endure homemade breakfast with Isabelle the morning before – a mistake she would never make again. The smell of butter and maple syrup tickled her nose as she danced in front of the pan, singing with a spatula.

Clary had woken up, Jace's arms tight around her, her mind finally at peace. She knew she worried too much but she couldn't shake this feeling of insecurity when he was away, despite the fact that she knew bank management wasn't very dangerous. Besides, having a husband in the banking business had its undeniable perks, like the beautiful penthouse they were living in.

She stuck a strawberry in her mouth, humming with the music. She was deeply lost in her thoughts when she felt two burning hands around her waist. She smiled, chewing on her lip as he trailed a path of kisses along her bare throat and shoulder. She shivered and felt him smile against her skin.

"Good morning," she whispered, knowing that if she spoke any louder her voice would be trembling. She turned to face him, smiling widely. She pushed a blond curl out of his eyes. His hair needed cutting, she thought. The purple circles under his eyes were making them darker than usual. He was exhausted. She let her hand fall on the back of his neck and gently kissed his lips, pressing her body to his. He lifted her off the ground and sat her on the kitchen counter without breaking off their kiss. She smiled and out of breath she pulled away.

"How was London?" She didn't really care. He shrugged, cupping her face in his hands.

Her cheeks were flushed and she seemed to suffocate from the heat he was causing her. She could feel his steady heartbeat under her fingers, as if she was the only one who had no control over the way he made her feel. That's when she noticed the T-shirt he was wearing. She frowned.

"Since when are you so modest?" she laughed, pulling him closer to her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and nibbled on his lower lip as she slipped a hand under his shirt, blushing at the anticipated feeling of hard muscle at the tip of her fingers.

She heard more than felt him moan against her lips and smiled. She felt as if he had flipped a switch on somewhere deep inside her, an electric burning that was consuming her entirely. Her arms were suddenly yanked away and she blinked rapidly. With a swift move he had grabbed her wrists with his hands, slightly wincing. She looked up, confused.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Clary asked, although the minute it came out of her mouth she realized how insane it sounded.

"Of course not." Jace smiled, attempting to save a burning pancake but ultimately failing miserably. Clary didn't think he knew but she could see through that smile. Her guts were telling her something was wrong and she trusted them – after all, they had been right about Jace when they first met. "We wouldn't want to use up my batteries when we have all night, now would we?"

"Your batteries never die," she retorted under her breath, hoping he wouldn't hear her. "So tell me again why you're not already at work? It's eleven in the morning and I believe _I_ am the artist," she said, pointing at her open sketchpad, scattered pencils and steaming cup of coffee on the table behind them.

"My plane landed at 1 a.m., so they've given me the morning off," Jace answered, lost in thought.

"How generous," Clary muttered. "Give me that," she ordered, seeing the strangely shaped pancake facing the same fate as the one before. She turned it around, letting Jace encircle her waist in his arms.

_Safe_, she thought. That's exactly how she felt when they were like this. He kissed her shoulder and she put a strawberry in his mouth, sliding the rescued pancake on a plate with the others.

"I love you," she blurted out.

He looked momentarily surprised, then his face softened and he crushed her against him, kissing her hungrily. She smiled, making a mental note of that moment for future references. Once again her hands found their way under his shirt, but this time he made no move to hold her back. Her camisole was first to hit the floor and she heard Jace let out a ragged breath at the sight of her bare chest. Clary was about to lift his shirt over his head when she froze, looking down at her fingers.

Blood was quickly inking the grey fabric with a hot crimson shade and a few drops had fallen onto her hands. She tilted her chin up, her face an expression of terror, her eyes so dark, they looked almost black.

"Shit," Jace groaned.

**xXx**

The Golden Door Gallery was located in the industrial neighborhood of Brooklyn. It had set up shop in an old warehouse from the late 1930s about forty years ago and hadn't moved since. It was well equipped with a storage room, a kitchen, a studio and an office. The building was made of red bricks and the huge double door had been painted in a rich gold, with elegant black letters carved in it. Flowerbeds of thousands of red roses circled the gallery and the windows had been changed and enlarged to let the light penetrate them.

Clary was awkwardly standing in the middle of the room, next to the cherub fountain. She wasn't sure what to do with herself while Laurel Miller, her agent, was finishing talking with the manager. When she had first met Mr. Gold, the owner of the gallery – the one in Brooklyn as well as a few others in Manhattan and around the world – she hadn't believed he was very interested in her art. But now that she was surrounded by her work, hanging on every wall bathing in the light of the early afternoon, she believed that her paintings belonged in this place. Her swirling starry skies were her best so far, they were what came the most naturally to her. Tonight was the opening of her first exhibition and she figured that it was the reason why she was so nervous – that and Jace's injury.

"My, my, my, what have we here?"

The voice startled her. A slender man had just walked in, wearing an electric blue shirt with navy and white striped jeans. His hair spiked on the top of his head in twinkling shades of dark and cobalt blue; both his big golden green eyes and his lips were perked up in a playful-yet-dazzling smile. Clary hopped toward him, her arms wide open.

"Magnus!" she exclaimed as he hugged her tight. "I wasn't sure you would make it."

"I wouldn't miss my best friend's big day for the world sweetie," he answered. "Besides, who better to dress you up than the devoted Magnus Bane, young and talented creator of _WolfsBane_?" He took a mannequin's pose, pursing his lips and squinting.

Clary rolled her eyes. "I'm always wearing your clothes – well, almost always."

"Of course, I make them especially for your tiny self," Magnus laughed, ruffling through Clary's red hair, the way a parent would. She grimaced, but didn't complain; she loved every piece with the WB logo she owned. "So," he continued, strolling beside the walls, "how do you feel about showing your work to the world?"

"I feel – " Clary looked away, looking for the right word, " – exposed." Her cheeks burned.

Magnus burst out laughing. "How did _you_ feel when your first collection got out?" she inquired.

"Goddamn proud!"

"Of course, you're a genius," Clary replied, shaking her head. "And you were like 16."

"Who's a genius?"

"Izzy!" Clary and Magnus exclaimed. "I'm glad you could make it," Clary added.

"It was either spending the day with you guys, or endure another twelve hours of fighting with Savannah about baby names," Isabelle explained, falling on one of the leather couches pushed against a wall. She let out a moan holding her heels – new, no doubt - in the air. "You can't believe how grateful I am for this," she gestured at their empty and quiet surroundings before her hands found their spot on her three-months-pregnant belly again, where lately they always rested.

"I thought you were waiting to know if it is a boy or a girl," Clary said, sitting crossed-legged next to her, her fingers playing with Isabelle's long black plait. Magnus had found a place just behind her and was resting his head in the crook of her neck.

"She knows," he said, his eyes widening. "That's why you didn't pick up the phone? Oh my god!"

Isabelle's red lips parted in a radiant smile; she nodded.

"Well?" Clary asked.

**xXx**

Jace rushed on to the mezzanine that overlooked the New York's Domestic Protection Division office. He immediately spotted Alec, who, standing against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest, rolled his eyes; Jules Moreau, head of the DPD – in other words, his boss; Aline who had been assigned Morgenstern's case after the last techie got transferred to DC; and a few other coworkers he had collaborated with.

"I heard you spotted Morgenstern," Jace said without bothering to greet anyone. "Where?"

"Tribeca," Jules answered, her blue eyes peering at Jace, gauging his reaction.

"He's here?" Jace asked.

"And he's getting close," Alec added.

Jules nodded, pressing a few buttons on the remote in her hands. A series of pictures and documents appeared on the flat screens in front of them. Jace's face darkened at the sight of Valentine Morgenstern, underdressed at JFK security.

"How did he get past security?" Jace exclaimed. "He's wanted on every continent and the man just walks through the front door?"

"He has balls," Aline said. "We have to give him that."

"He used a new alias," Jules explained, pulling up a passport scan on a screen. "Michael Wayland."

Jace froze. "Isn't Jace Wayland one of _your_ aliases?" Alec asked, a tinge of panic clear in his voice. "Sydney?"

"He's taunting us," Jules said between gritted teeth.

"It's working," Alec muttered, watching Jace fold his hands into two tense fists at his sides. "Jace," he warned.

"Aline, pull up every known associate of Valentine in the city," Jace ordered.

Aline turned her head to Jules who nodded. After a few seconds, a list of pictures and names from the database made their way onto another screen. Most of them were from out of town though, except for one.

"Emil Pangborn," Alec read out loud. "Why does it sound familiar?"

"He's a drug dealer," Jace answered, his golden eyes still staring at the screen.

"Drug dealer?" Jules repeated with a hint of sarcasm. "He rules the underground New York. We tried to take him down a few years back but it all went bust because of–"

"A mole," Jace finished. "I remember. We all had to pass extra polygraphs."

"Who's working the case?" Alec asked.

Jules bent over the railing. "Verlac!" she called. A dark-haired boy looked up from one of the cubicles in the far end corner. "Come here."

The young man quickly climbed up the stairs. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a gray shirt and a red tie. His hair was tousled, falling in his dark brown eyes, and his nose was slightly disproportionate for his long and oval face. Apart from that – and his questionable taste in fashion – Jace thought he looked like a guy who could have come straight out of one of Clary's novels – shy, but mysterious.

"Sebastian Verlac," he introduced himself, shaking Jace's hand. "I read all of your case files, Agent Herondale."

"How nice," Jace said and Alec dug his elbow in his ribs. He winced as the pain from his bruises came alive once again.

"Alec Lightwood."

"I know." Sebastian looked fascinated, which was making Alec uncomfortable.

"Let's skip the pleasantries, shall we?" Jules suggested. "You monitor Pangborn's activities, correct?"

"Correct," Sebastian answered with a short nod.

"What can you tell me about him? What does he deal?"

"Everything that's ever existed on the black market, but…"

"But?"

"Well, I don't know if it's what you're looking for but I came to notice that it's not drugs he is interested in as much as information."

"So what kind of information could Valentine be after now?" Jace wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Alec admitted. "But it must be damn important if he took the risk to come all the way here."

Jace meditated Alec's response for a few minutes. "So what do we do?" he asked, turning to Jules.

"We watch him," she said. "Up close and personal."

"Alright."

"You can't obviously go undercover," she added.

"What? Oh yeah, since Valentine and I are big buddies now."

"Neither can Alec."

"That's okay, I really don't mind," he assured them with a half-smile. Jace shook his head.

"Wait. You've actually seen Valentine Morgenstern?" Sebastian asked. "_The_ Valentine Morgenstern?"

"Yep." Jace grinned, a shadow of contempt darkening his gold eyes. "Do you want me to sign your chest or something?"

"Jace." Alec rolled his eyes. "Play nice." Jace shrugged, refocusing on the screens, crossing his arms on his chest.

"I think Sebastian should go," Jules said. "Undercover I mean."

Jace, Alec and Sebastian looked at her as if she were insane. "What?"

"She has a point Jace," Alec agreed. "He's a newbie so he's safe – more or less."

"Since when has safe stopped us?" Jace asked. "Valentine's mine. There is no way in hell that I'm letting _him_ in on this."

"You're not," Jules agreed. "I am."

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><p>Read &amp; Review<p>

Should Izzy and Simon have a boy or a girl?


	3. Hold her through the night

Hey guys! So you may have notice that the rating has changed which means that there's a wee bit of lemonade at the end of this chapter^^ As usual read & review, give your thoughts and comments.

I don't own the Mortal Instruments series, they belong to Cassandra Clare. The story and all the OCs however are mine.

Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: Hold Her through the Night <strong>

Clary had always been socially awkward. She would just stand there with a friendly smile on her lips, in the middle of the crowd while people swirled around her in whirls of colors and words. Her heart was beating wildly against her ribcage, her glass of champagne trembling in her shaking hand. She was watching people walk around the gallery, whispering and pointing and nodding. The anxiety was overwhelming and hard to bear, even after she gulped out her flute and Isabelle's – who was forbidden to drink any alcohol, of course. Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths didn't help either, and the only person who could have calmed her down was missing. There was no trace of Jace anywhere. She had repeated over and over to him how important this day was and he had promised to be here and hold her.

She forced a brave smile and waved at her mother and father – Jocelyn and Luke Graymark – who were the best parents she could have dreamed of, supportive and loving. Their thumbs were up as they congratulated her from afar. She nodded in thanks and carried on staring at the door.

"It won't explode."

She jumped back in surprise. A tall man was smiling at her. He looked young, probably around her own age and had broad and strong-looking shoulders, although Clary couldn't help but notice that they were slightly narrower than Jace's. Something was strange about him though, despite his obvious youth, his hair and eyebrows were gray – almost white. She wondered if maybe he had done it on purpose or if he was sick. His eyes were dark and twinkling with the reflection of a candle flame standing on a short pillar next to the fountain. He looked very elegant, wearing all black. She frowned.

"What?"

"No matter how long you stare at the door, I don't think it'll ever explode," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Jonathan. Jonathan Morgenstern."

Clary couldn't help but smile. "Did I say something fun–?"

"No! I'm sorry," she apologized. "My husband's name is Jonathan too; I was just thinking how small the world was."

He smiled a gentle smile and she thought she saw a flash of disappointment at the mention of Jace. "And you are?"

"Clarissa Herondale."

"You're the artist?" he asked, his face a mask of pleasant surprise.

Clary nodded shyly, feeling her cheeks heating up. "That's me."

"Well you're extremely talented, Clarissa."

"Thank you." A waiter walked by them and she grabbed another glass of champagne from his trail, from which she took a long sip, hoping it would calm the blushing – which of course, it only increased. "Did Laurel invite you?"

"Laurel?" Jonathan repeated confused.

"Laurel Miller? She's my agent," Clary said.

"Oh, no I was just walking by. I used to live in this neighborhood when I was a kid and I wanted to see if it was as I remembered it. That's when I saw one of your paintings from outside. It took my breath away. I wanted to see if I could buy one," Jonathan explained. "But apparently they are all sold out."

Clary coughed, choking on her champagne. "What?"

"You didn't know?" She shook her head. "Well I'm happy to be the one to announce it to you. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Clary spluttered, looking for Laurel or Mr. Gold in the crowd. "I'm sorry you couldn't get one. Maybe next time?"

"I won't be in New York next time, I think," he said. "I'm leaving at the end of the week."

"Oh already?"

"Clary!" She turned around and saw Magnus and Isabelle, gesturing for her to come.

"_Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day:_

_It was the nightingale, and not the lark,_

_That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear_," Jonathan whispered softly to himself. Clary turned on her heels.

"Did you just quote Romeo and Juliet?" she asked in disbelief and he nodded, the shadow of a smile playing on his lips. She seemed to debate with herself, her cheeks burning harder.

"I was in the play in high school," Jonathan explained. "By the end of the term I knew R&J by heart."

"I'm a Shakespeare nerd. I –that's what inspired me to paint the first one of these," Clary said.

"Which part?" he asked, taking a step closer to her.

She took a step back.

"_Take him and cut him out in little stars,_

_And he will make the face of heaven so fine_

_That all the world will be in love with night_

_And pay no worship to the garish sun_."

"Beautiful," she thought she heard him whisper.

"Maybe I could paint you – sorry _for _you– I mean," she took a deep breath, hating herself for being so skittish around men she didn't know. "I could paint a night sky for you, before you leave. If you want of course."

"It's okay. I wouldn't want to trouble you," Jonathan replied, running a hand through his gray-white hair. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who's going home disappointed."

"Maybe not, but you quoted Shakespeare and I thought I was the only nerd that knew it almost by heart," she laughed and he joined her. "No offense."

"None taken," he smiled.

"I think I have to go before my friends drag me by the hair," Clary said once she had regained her breath. She took a piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Jonathan with a pen.

"If you could write your number," she asked. "I'll call you before the end of the week."

"I don't want to overstep my boundaries here," he replied, scribbling the digits on the small card. "If you had other plans…"

"I like challenges," she shrugged.

"Well in that case, here you go." He handed Clary her paper back. "I'll look forward to hearing from you."

**xXx**

"Do you know what's even scarier than the thought of Morgenstern in the city?" Alec asked, slamming the door of his car shut. Jace wasn't really paying attention. "Facing Magnus, Clary and Iz pissed off at us for being so late."

Jace rolled his eyes and walked through the golden door of the gallery. He stopped abruptly. He had seen Clary's paintings, but the light inside was different. Hundreds of candles stood on differently shaped and sized pillars, their flames wavering as people strolled around the room, casting strange shadows on the paintings and the floor. Clary was laughing with Magnus, Simon and Isabelle, her hands firmly gripping her glass of champagne. She was beautiful, wearing a short black bustier dress, tighter at the waist with irregular splashes of red, pink, purple and orange paint across it –no doubt that it was one of Magnus'. Her bright red hair had been smoothed and was gracefully falling on her freckled shoulders. He couldn't see her eyes from here but, knowing Magnus, he bet that they looked like two emeralds encrusted in her doll-like face. As if she felt his eyes on her, she turned her head in his direction. He saw a cocktail of emotions rack through her before she marched over to him.

"I'm so, so sorry, Clary," Jace said. "It's–"

"Work, I know," she interrupted him. "Not that it makes it any better." He mentally braced himself for the screaming and the kick in the crotch – Clary was surprisingly good at aiming where it hurts when she was upset. But, she bit her lips before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him lightly. He frowned, confused. "_That_ doesn't mean that I'm not mad at you, but I'll be mad later."

"Works for me," he smirked and slid an arm around her waist. "I'm proud of you," he added and she blushed, the freckles on her cheeks lighting up.

"Jace!" Before he could react a little girl with brown hair and green eyes launched herself in his arms. He caught her swiftly and smiled.

"Hey Tab," he greeted, pecking her on the cheek. Tabitha was Clary's eight-year-old sister. He tickled her and she giggled trying to escape him. He settled her down gently and she ran off, probably to her parents. Clary and Tabitha didn't look like siblings; not the way Alec and Isabelle did, but they had the exact same eyes – shaped like Luke's and greener than Jocelyn's. He wondered, not for the first time, what their – his and Clary's – children would look like.

"I think Golden Boy is far _far_ away." Jace snapped back to reality. Magnus was staring at him, his eyes twinkling. He was standing in Alec's arms, playing with the spider-like pendant of his gold and shiny necklace. "Oh please, don't let us interrupt your fantasies." He winked at Clary who blushed and looked away.

"What took you so long anyway?" Isabelle asked, looking from Alec to Jace with a suspicious frown on her face.

"What do you think?" Jace replied, taking Clary's glass of champagne and emptying it.

"Hum, knowing you I'd say stripper, or something like that," Isabelle said, faking a smile.

Magnus burst out laughing, Alec chuckled and Clary just rolled her eyes, intertwining her fingers with Jace's. Simon shook his head, an apologetic look on his face.

"You don't know what you're talking about dear Isabelle," Jace said as his mouth slowly stretched into a crooked smile. "I'm way too pretty for strippers."

Clary chuckled. "Cocky bastard," Isabelle spat.

"The hormones are kicking in," Simon whispered to Jace, whose mouth widened even more. "I would be careful about what I say next if I were you."

"I see."

Isabelle shot him an evil look, somehow enhanced by the red of her long silk dress and shimmering lipstick.

"Anyway," Magnus interrupted, "Stripper or no stripper, I'd like to propose a toast." He raised his glass of champagne in front of him. "To our sweet and spicy Clary and her undeniable and brilliant success tonight, may her life be full of starlight and nice long walks on the beach and hot passionate love m–"

"Magnus." Alec shook him a little, his face flushed.

"Oh. Sorry," he smiled crookedly then whispered so low that only Alec heard, "This is for you and me."

"To – to Clar–ry," Alec stammered.

"To Clary," the others echoed.

**xXx**

The night was dark and cold but Jonathan found it welcoming. The noise however was keeping him from sleeping, screams and sirens and music which sounded as close as if they were in bed with him. He hated New York – or any big American city for that matter. They were busy and loud and it was impossible to breathe without dying of lung cancer. And people like him had to be really creative to bring a new order to the underworld, as his father called it. Jonathan knew the world, he had traveled it with Valentine – or fled around it, depending on how one looked at it – and he had found that everywhere was better than being in the Big Apple, the city where it had all began; where his father had held his mother hostage for nine months before he was born because she didn't want to have him. The same mother, Reyna Branwell, had vanished from the face of the earth not so long after that, because she couldn't look at her own son without feeling disgusted or repelled.

Since then, Jonathan had carried in his heart an unflinching scorn toward womankind with the firm attention of never forgiving them for what his mother did. Even the red headed beauty lying next to him could do nothing to fix him – not in one night anyway, and it's all that he had paid for. He shook his head. He didn't need nor want to be fixed. That's the way he liked it. No feelings, just the mere satisfaction of his basic needs. He had become what his father had always wanted him to be and that was fine with him. The girl turned around, squinting to see through the darkness.

"Well?" she asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well what?" he retorted.

"Are you going to untie me or what?" she asked, rolling her eyes. She wore green contact lenses but the color was nowhere near the real shade of the one he had wanted to spend his night with. But he knew her nights belonged to someone else. Her hands were tightly tied above her head.

He shrugged. A nagging voice inside his mind was telling him that Clarissa was different, that she meant something – or would mean something if he ever saw her again, and he wasn't sure how long he could ignore it. Was he going soft? He hoped not, because in his line of "business" soft wouldn't keep him alive very long – neither would love now that he thought about it. He frowned, switching his bedside table lamp on. He ruffled through his hair and slowly stood up, walking toward the door.

"Hey!" the girl called, kicking in the air, trying to escape her bonds.

Jonathan's face darkened as he bent to the girl's eye level, a smile on his lips. "If I were you I'd be _very_ quiet right now, and _very_ cooperative when I come back."

The girl nodded fervently, her eyes wide with fear, and he patted her head before leaving the room.

"Where have you been?" Valentine asked as soon as he spotted his son. As usual, his tone was careful and irritatingly measured.

"I may be mistaken," Jonathan started, "but that is none of your business, Father."

"Very well," Valentine answered, the shadow of a smile on his lips. "You _do_ know that we have a meeting tomorrow morning? I won't tolerate any lateness."

Jonathan shrugged and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He opened the tap and splashed his face with cold water. He inhaled deeply and lifted his chin, looking at his reflection in the large silver-framed mirror. His hair had become whiter again, his pale face emphasizing the darkness in his eyes. Even with the bright yellow light hanging above his head, they looked like bottomless holes, the iris undistinguishable from the pupil. What he looked like was no surprise to him, he had seen himself many times before, but the more he looked the more he saw how much of his father he had taken – his narrow nose, the rounded shape of his eyes, his furry eyebrows, and now even the color of his hair was more similar to his father's than ever. A cruel smile was creeping its way onto his lips. Everything he needed to make others do what he wanted was here; people were too scared to refuse him anything, and he knew way too well how to use this power. Only someone had refused him tonight – in a way. He turned his head toward his room. _Clarissa_. Rage rose like bile in his mouth. He punched the glass with all the fury buried inside of him. The mirror shattered into an explosion of glass. When he looked at it again, blood was dripping from the cracks where his fists had hit the glass.

He took a towel and wiped the blood from his fist, walking toward the bathroom door and his room, where he knew he would find some kind of release from his frustration, even if it wasn't with the girl he wanted.

**xXx**

"Here," Jace said, handing Clary the warm mint tea she had craved for on their way back to Nolita.

They had changed into more comfortable clothes, Clary in an ivory cami and striped pajama's shorts and Jace in a dark blue T-shirt with gray sweatpants, and had climbed onto the roof's large terrace. Clary always loved the feeling of her bare feet against the wet wooden floor. She looked at the New York night life with a twinkle in her eyes, resting against the railing. She couldn't believe how the night had turned out, she felt silly obsessing over it earlier. Everything went fine – more than fine, it was perfect.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Jace, sitting just beside her on a bench.

"I'm happy," she answered, as he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

"I thought you were going to be all over me for being late?"

"I changed my mind," she said, leaning over him. She brushed her lips against his, but when he stretched his neck to kiss her, she stopped him with a finger on his mouth, shaking her head.

"Oh." Jace rolled his eyes. "I see where this is going. That's how you're punishing me, isn't it?"

"Whatever works." She shrugged, faking an innocent smile, setting the tea aside.

She returned to her contemplation of New York, trying to keep the smile that was trying to escape inside. Clary had never been in control before; it had always been quite the opposite. Jace could make her do pretty much anything. She closed her eyes, breathing in the hot summer air, enjoying the change of roles. Jace's arms went around her waist, pressing her against his body and she felt him harden through the thin fabric of her shorts. She inhaled deeply. It took all of her strength to keep facing the city and ignore the rising heat that was slowly flooding between her legs. She bit her lip hard and gripped the railing trying her best to regain her composure. She felt him smile as his mouth trailed a path of hot kisses along her throat and on her shoulder.

"It's been a long week," he murmured in her ear. "I thought you'd be _happier_ to see me."

She closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath as her heart was hammering in her chest. She felt his hands play with the silk bow of her shorts, the only thing keeping it from falling down.

"I was – I _am_." She tilted her head back against his shoulder. "Oh god, _I don't know_."

He slid a hand under her shirt, lightly brushing her breast with the tip of his fingers. Her lips trembled as she tried to cover the sound of a moan with her hands. She had no idea how, but Clary found the strength to pull away and spun on her heels. "No." She shook her head, out of breath, keeping him at arm's length.

"_No_?" Jace repeated, with a smirk. He pushed a lock of fiery red hair out of her face. She knew he could smell the victory.

He was right. It _had_ been a long week. She was still not used to sleeping by herself in their big bed.

He saw her flinch and took his chance by picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist. Then he looked up at her and saw that she had given in, her parted lips breathing heavily as her cheeks blushed.

He didn't think Clary realized how much the combination of innocence and everlasting desire he could see on her face turned him on. She crushed her mouth to his, and he opened his mouth for her tongue, his hands running frenetically up and down her thighs. She didn't notice that her cami had landed on the floor until she felt his burning hands on the skin of her back. As usual, she was expecting him to be disappointed at the sight of her small breasts, but each time she only saw lust in his golden eyes. She lifted his shirt above his head and took a ragged breath, remembering about the car injury. The bruises were slowly turning into a deep purple and the long cut across his chest had been stitched.

"Are you sure?" she asked, her hand resting lightly on his bruised chest. "I don't want to hurt you again."

"You can't hurt me," he whispered, mesmerized by how beautiful her body shone in the moonlight.

His mouth found her lips again and then trailed down her throat until he reached her breasts. He sucked on a pink nipple and she moaned loudly. When he looked at her again she cupped his face in her hands, dizzied by the ecstasy and the pleasure running through her veins.

"B–bed," she managed to say, stuttering, and he smiled, carrying her downstairs, shutting down New York's night life as he slammed the door shut with his foot.

* * *

><p>Read &amp; Review<p>

See ya!

Lilly


	4. Resolutions and Promises

Hey ! Just so you know I only update a chapter when I finished the one after and thanks to your kind reviews and me skipping school a lot, I'm working faster than usual so here it is already the 3rd chapter when we learn a bit about other characters.

Enjoy, read and review!

Lilly.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: Resolutions and Promises<strong>

"So how are you sweetie?" Jia Penhallow asked as her daughter made her way to the coffee machine, her eyes squinting because of the sunlight shining through the light white curtains of her parents' kitchen. Aline poured herself a mug and sat down in front of her mom.

"I'm fine," she said, almost moaning as the warm dark liquid ran down in her throat. _I had_ _another sex dream about Jace_, she wanted to add but she knew her mother, who was even nosier than she was, would never let that go, and the consequence of that short sentence would result in a never ending interrogation. Lately, Jace was all she could dream about, day _and_ night.

"You seemed kind of blue yesterday," Jia explained. "You usually only visit on the weekends."

"I just needed some air," Aline muttered, her head in her hands, staring absentmindedly at the room in which she had spent most of her afternoon, watching her mother bake.

"Is this about your work?" Jia inquired. "I thought you loved working at Alicante?"

"I do," she answered. "It's not work." She didn't want to have to lie some more about working for the Alicante Banking Group & Corporation instead of the Agency.

"Are you still thinking about Jordan?" her mother guessed. Aline didn't reply. "Honey, it was almost two years ago, you need to move on. He's not coming back. He loves hm – what's her name again?"

"Maia Roberts," she said through gritted teeth. _The bitch who stole my ex-husband-to-be_.

"Yeah. Maia. I think it's for the best," Jia continued.

"Yeah, you're right. I got dumped by my fucking fiancé so he could screw the ex who he forgot he had feelings for," Aline groaned. "Everything is fucking awesome!"

"Sweetie! That's not what I meant. I'm sorry," Jia apologized. "I just think it's better that Jordan realized he loved Maia _before_ you two got married rather than after. You know, there's nothing worse than to be married to someone who doesn't love you back. At least now you're free to look for the one who's right for you. The one who will love you as much as you'll love him."

"What if there's no such person?" Aline asked.

"Don't be ridiculous." Jia smiled kindly, extending a hand across the table, a hand she put on her daughter's cheek. "Aline, you're 24 years old; you have your life ahead of you and I _know_ that you will find the right guy."

"I know," she sighed. "I'm just sick of waiting."

"That's your father's side. Patrick has always been impatient," Jia chuckled.

"And what if I've already found him, but he's - " She seemed to consider how she could explain her situation to her mom_. _" – married to someone else and that girl doesn't deserve him at all, would it be ok to take my chances?"

"Aline Sylvia Penhallow, are you having an affair with a married man?" Jia's face hardened. "Because that's not how your father and I raised you."

"No, I'm not, mom. Calm down." Aline rolled her eyes. _I wish I was._

"You know what I think you should do?"

Aline shook her head.

"Go back out there, find something sexy to wear and have a girls' night out with your friends!" Jia exclaimed.

"I think I'm going to call Jordan," Aline replied. "Tell him what I think of him."

"You've already done that," Jia retorted. "Listen to me sweetie pie: you'll never move on if you don't let it go. Just let it go and find yourself a tall and gorgeous man. Have sex with models and hot business men –protected sex of course. Live. You'll never find him if you stay stuck in your apartment lamenting on what could have been."

Aline sighed and looked at her mother. She was right. Jordan Kyle was in her past and she didn't even want him back. As for Jace, she would just have to take the next step herself. She suddenly stood up, startling her mother and put her empty mug in the sink before racing up the stairs.

"Thanks mom. I know exactly what I have to do."

**xXx**

When Simon had first met Isabelle Lightwood, three years ago, he would have never thought she'd be interested in someone like him. She looked like a princess with her raven black hair, braided in a waist-long plait falling over her shoulder, her dark blue eyes peering into the crowd at the coffee shop's entrance, and the way her lips shone a golden pink in the sunlight. He, on the other hand, looked like a giant nerd – just having graduated from Columbia – with his glasses and ill-fitted suits. It had taken all of his courage to ask her out and, after all this time, he still couldn't believe she had agreed to go on a date with him in the first place, and the fact that she was now his girlfriend and pregnant with his baby girl seemed too foreign to hold any kind of truth.

All that combined made him sweat as he patted the left side pocket of his jeans for the hundredth time to be sure it was still in it. Central Park was beautiful in the summer. As his father had told him and his older sister Rebecca before he abandoned them, it was a magical place, where the outside New York — busy, loud and suffocating — didn't exist. There, the tree branches bowed down under the weight of heavy green leaves and colorful fruits, their large barks serving as the ideal hiding spot for children's hide-and-seek. The whole place was buzzing with the New York preserved wildlife, which after a stubbornly long winter and rainy spring had finally decided to come out of hibernation. The park was filled with kids playing and laughing, masters yelling after their barking dogs, housewives and au pairs gossiping. They were sitting on a blue picnic blanket his grandmother had kitted for him a few years ago.

"What?" Isabelle asked.

Simon shook his head. "Nothing."

"You were kind of staring," she replied, taking another large bite out of the cheeseburger she was having for her second breakfast. "Is there something on my face?"

"Of course not," Simon answered with a half grin.

He loved Pregnant Isabelle, though the first month and a half had been hard. The morning sickness and the hyper sensibility to smell had nearly driven her crazy and despite all of his efforts Simon hadn't managed to ease her discomfort. She would wake up at any hour, call Alec or Clary in the middle of the night, kick him in her sleep and fight with his mother – though Simon had come to realize it was pretty much how they normally communicated.

But after the nausea had passed, she had become another person altogether. She was very sensitive and needed Simon for nothing and everything. The food cravings had settled in and he had found himself wandering the streets of New York from twilight to dawn looking for Chinese food – luckily there was always a restaurant open – or a peanut butter and pineapple pizza which, in the end, he had to bake himself since none of the pizzerias were apparently doing those. But he didn't mind, he would take her to the moon if she had asked.

Especially since lately, Isabelle's libido ran on overdrive. Simon would find himself in tricky situations where he was at a meeting at work and Isabelle would text him or send him a picture that would make him babble a miserable excuse and jump in a cab heading back home.

It wasn't noon and he was already exhausted.

"You're beautiful," he whispered in her ear and felt her shiver. Was she blushing? Isabelle Lightwood didn't blush.

He inhaled deeply. Now was his chance.

"Izzy," he called, immediately catching her attention. She tilted her chin up so that she could look at him. Her hair was falling in a cascade of onyx around her shoulder, her eyes incredibly blue. She was wearing a thin flower dress from WolfsBane – he recognized the style as typical Magnus'.

He was grateful he was sitting because his knees were turning into jelly. He had rehearsed this in front of the mirror for almost two months. He felt nervous and intimidated, and a lump was growing in his throat. Isabelle frowned. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

"I – I've tried to think about the best way to say this – the best way to tell you that I wa – that I only leave in the morning because I know that when the night comes I'll be lying next to you. I'm not like Jace, words don't come as easily to me as they come to him. But I know in my heart that I will love you for the rest of my life and I hope that if you feel that way too, you will marry me."

Isabelle's eyes went wide. Simon smiled shyly and shifting from seated to kneeling, he took the small velvet box out of his pocket. He slowly opened it, revealing the ring.

"Isabelle Lightwood, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he asked, surprised that his voice didn't shake at all.

Isabelle gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. She stared at the ring and back at Simon. Her face seemed to light up and slowly she lowered her hands, an ear-to-ear smile perking her lips up. She nodded.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, yes, yes yes yes yes yes!" She jumped on him, causing him to lose balance and fall back.

She gave him her left hand and he slid the silver ring around her finger. It was a round brilliant center diamond, accentuated by bead-set diamonds on each side. "I love you so much," she said.

"I love you too," he repeated, kissing her as if his life depended on it – which, he realized, it did.

**xXx**

Jace was standing in the tech operation office, slouched against the wall. Three of the walls were covered with screens displaying uninterrupted flows of images, intel and encrypted files. A large glass table stood in the middle where the five tech operatives worked in shifts of sometimes twelve hours. Two had their headphones on and were giving instructions to the field agent they had been assigned to, and were frenetically typing on their keyboards. Aline, tablet in hand, was talking to Jules, and Sebastian was staring at him from across the room.

Alec was looking over the files that had dragged Jace out of a very hot shower with Clary. Valentine and his son Jonathan had been spotted in front of the Tudor Hotel in Midtown East, as had Emil Pangborn and his brother Anson.

"I hate being trapped in here," he grumbled.

"Well you can't go outside without possibly blowing your covert status," Alec said, without taking his eyes off the files.

"You've already said that. Verlac," he called and Sebastian almost ran to him.

At that moment, Jules turned her head to them.

"Aline," she asked and she pulled a passport on one of the screens. "This," Jules continued, "is your new identity. Jace here has been kind enough to help profile your best way in."

"Kind is my middle name," Jace grinned. Alec almost choked.

"Which is?" Sebastian asked.

"Emil's daughter, Tatiana," Jace answered.

"We need to act quickly. There's no telling how fast Valentine will get whatever it is he wants and then we might lose him again. We can't afford that."

"Emil and Tatiana are very close, aren't they?" Sebastian said. "I think I've seen pictures of her during my research. They have brunch every Sunday."

"How sweet," Jace mocked, noticing the slight blushing of Sebastian's cheeks.

"And she knows about her father's business so it'll be even easier," Jules added, ignoring Jace.

"Ok. What do you want me to do?"

"Is he for _real_?" Jace asked, rolling his eyes and pointing a thumb at him. "What do you think _smart guy_?"

"She just got out of a relationship," Alec explained. "So it won't be easy, but you need to get her trust so that she can introduce you to her father and his circle."

"We're doing this one step at a time," Jules said. "There's a party tonight. You're going. Alec and Jace will keep an eye on you this once."

"What's my story?"

"You're Declan Carter, age 25, born and raised in Sacramento. You've been arrested for possession, dealing and petty theft and an alleged arm dealer. No family, no girlfriend. "

Sebastian repeated the information in silence. "Okay. Declan Carter. What exactly is the plan here? Once I've approached Tatiana, I mean."

"Let the magic work," Jace said, grinning.

"And?"

"Hopefully you'll be in Pangborn's circle in no time," he continued.

"You need to be indispensable to Pangborn," Alec said.

"How?"

"We'll fry a few of his associates on possession or dealing charges."

"If they could be charged, they'd be in federal prison by now," Sebastian replied.

"We have our ways," Jace grinned.

"What he means is that we'll frame them," Alec said. "The more insecure he feels the more he'll rely on you."

"Why would he trust me if I'm new?" Sebastian retorted. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Hey, what do you know? Newbie _does _have a brain," Jace exclaimed.

"Jace," Alec warned, shaking his head in exasperation but having a hard time keeping the grin off his face.

"Because in the mess we're going to create, you'll be the only one who'll be able to help. If everyone's in jail, who better than you to take care of what's needed to be taken care of?" Jace said.

"Business can't stop and Pangborn knows that," Jules declared. "The black market is thriving; they would just find someone else to replace him. And he can't afford that."

"The idea is that when the net is tightening around him, he'll go through you for everything: transactions, protection, including the thing that Valentine wants," Alec explained.

"Okay. How are we going to do that?" Sebastian asked.

"First things first. We need to go shopping if you want to look the part," Jace said, giving him a look over. "Alec?"

"I'll call Magnus."

* * *

><p>So what do you think? Read and Review please! I want to know everything that went through your mind while you were reading^^! Ideas for the story, thoughts, I'm all ears!<p>

See ya!

Lilly.


	5. Out with the old and in with new

Hey guys ! Once again thanks for the reviews !^^ There isn't much "Jace and Clary parts" in this chapter but I promised there will be in the next! I still don't own anything but the story and the OCs.

Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: Out with the Old and In with the New<strong>

Clary felt like a teenage girl, hopping alone in her art studio, her cellphone stuck to her ear. Isabelle was getting married. _Finally_. It was happening. She took a look at her wedding and engagement rings, memories of her own wedding flowing through her mind.

"Clary, are you listening to me?" Isabelle screamed on the other end of the line.

"Yes – well no – I… Sorry," she apologized, picking up a paintbrush. "You were saying?"

"That I want you to be my Maid of Honor." There was a small silence. "Clare? Are you still here?"

"YES!" she squealed.

"Yes you're here or yes you'll be my Maid of Honor?"

"Both," Clary answered. "Thank you Izzy."

"You're welcome, you're my best friend," Isabelle sang. "By the way Simon and I are planning a little get together tonight with my parents and his mother and sister. You guys should come."

"Okay, especially since I'm appointing Magnus as my assistant Maid of Honor."

"That's fine with me," Isabelle agreed. "By the way, do you think he'll be mad if I go Vera Wang for the dress?"

"No, he won't," Clary assured her. "Remember when we picked my dress? He said he wasn't interested in making wedding dresses since Vera was doing it so well."

"Amen to that," Isabelle laughed.

"So how does it feel to be engaged?" she asked.

"I don't think I realize it quite yet," Isabelle admitted. "It's only been two hours, twenty-seven minutes and about forty-nine seconds."

"Oh, you're counting," Clary chuckled. "That's a good sign."

"So, what are you doing?"

"You remember that weird looking guy with the white hair?" Clary started.

"Oh yeah, he was cute. For an old guy," Isabelle smirked.

"He wasn't old; his hair was white. I don't know why."

"You didn't Google it, did you?"

"No, I don't really care. Anyway, I promised I would paint one of my skies for him, so that's what I'm doing," Clary said.

"You're at his place, are you mad?" Isabelle exclaimed. "I'm coming to fetch you. Right now!"

"No, I'm not at his place. I didn't say I was painting his bedroom's ceiling, I'm at the studio," Clary explained.

"Oh God. Good."

Clary shook her head, smiling. "Anyway, do you want to meet later?"

"Yeah sure, I'll call Magnus," Isabelle said. "Where do you want to meet?"

"The Vera Wang store next to Bryant Park?" Clary suggested. "I know the manager, I painted the room of her little girl – Emma Granville, I think her name is. We should make an appointment as soon as possible to be sure that you get the dress you want."

"I see you've got everything under control so I'll just show up and be pretty," Isabelle grinned. "Should we say in a couple of hours?"

"That works for me." Clary nodded.

"Great. Clare, I've got to run, Savannah and Rebecca just arrived."

"Be nice," Clary warned her friend. She heard her sigh.

"But–"

"No buts, Iz," she interrupted. "Do it for Simon."

"I hate you when you use emotional blackmail on me," Isabelle muttered.

"Love you too! See ya!"

**xXx**

Everyone thought Maia Roberts wasn't afraid of anything. After all, she had survived her abusive family. The Roberts' neighbors in Little Ferry, New Jersey had seen the bruises, the swollen lips, the cuts on her arms and face, the screams, the fights and the tears. No one had expected her to make it out of high school but she did. She graduated, found a good job as an interior designer and moved to the city – that's what the people in New Jersey called New York. And they had never heard from her again. But, on the other hand, they had witnessed the police arresting her older brother Daniel for armed robbery and her father being brought to the township's morgue after his car had been crushed during an accident. Soon after, her mother, Carolyn had taken her maiden's name Mortmain back and moved to Florida.

Maia had never blamed her mother for what her brother and father did to her, because what they did to Maia they also did to Carolyn. So, mother and daughter had kept contact over the years, despite the fact that they only saw each other on special occasions like Carolyn's remarriage or the birth of Maia's son, Killian.

Maia never believed happiness had been meant for her to find. But as she lied on her bed, watching as the breathing of her baby boy and his father were oddly synchronized, she couldn't think life could get better than that. If everything she had endured from her early childhood to the day she had met Jordan had to happen for her to be right there right now, she wouldn't change a thing. Killian was a very curious baby with huge hazel eyes like Jordan's. Maia gently stroked his hair before kissing his forehead and dragging herself out of bed.

She had a lot of work to do. They were finally moving out into a bigger apartment – where Jordan and she would actually have a real bedroom – and she knew exactly how she wanted it to look like, which was the main reason why they hadn't moved in yet. She rummaged through her bag before she found her file with her drawings of the new apartment's rooms. There was only one that wasn't finished yet: Killian's nursery, and she knew exactly what she wanted. It had taken time and a lot of efforts on Maia's and her colleagues/friends' part but she had found the number.

She quickly dialed it on her phone and waited. "Laurel Miller, how can I help you?"

"Hi, I was actually looking for Clarissa Herondale? The artist? I wanted to know if she was available to paint my son's nursery," Maia quickly explained keeping her voice as low as possible.

"I'm her agent," Laurel answered. "No, that doesn't go here you moron!" Maia frowned. "Sorry, I'm in the middle of this diner party's organization and apparently I speak some kind of foreign language since no one understands what I want."

"I hear you sister," Maia chuckled. "I'm in interior design, sometimes it's like they do it on purpose, to test your cool."

"Well I don't have any," Laurel mumbled. "Wait – you're an interior designer?"

"Yep," Maia said.

"Interesting. Would you be interested in a little trade?" Laurel asked. "To the **right **you idiot!"

"Depends, what are you proposing?"

"I'll get Clary on the phone and into your son's nursery – let's say by the end of the week, if you help me with the party," Laurel proposed.

"That sounds fair," Maia said. "I'm in."

"Great, do you have a pen and a paper?"

**xXx**

When Sebastian had been informed that he was going shopping, this wasn't what he had in mind. But even when the doorman of 1678 Fifth Avenue, held the massive glass door for him, he didn't dare ask where they were. Jace and Alec were walking a few steps ahead whispering, whereas Aline was right next to him, her mind absorbed in her tablet – which he knew was usual with tech operatives. She was beautiful, he thought, with her long blond hair, long legs and full mouth, wearing a gray high-waist skirt, a provocatively open white shirt and high heeled boots. If he stretched his neck just a little higher he could take a peek at her lacy black bra. He shook his head, focusing on the task ahead.

He hadn't expected Jace to be so – well to be _Jace_. Like everyone else at the Agency, he had heard rumors that Jace and Alec had been the only agents to be ever recruited out of high school and not college, and to finish training at the Farm in one month, that they worked both normal ops and black ops – no one knew exactly what _black_ meant but it always sounded _badass_, and that there was an entire office and team dedicated to keeping their covert status safe. They were the CIA's best operatives. The images he had conjured up in his mind from that information were in utter contradiction with the reality. He thought they would be serious – as in _boringly_ serious and older. If he had to guess, he would say Jace and Alec were about his age, slightly older maybe. They didn't look like the type with experience, although he had to admit they radiated some kind of authority and inspired some respect.

Still, Jace was one cocky bastard.

He climbed into the elevator and watched as Alec pushed the 34th floor's button, which was the only one without a company's name tag and that required a key to access.

"Who are we going to see?" Sebastian finally asked.

"Magnus Bane," Alec answered. "He's the man for the job."

He saw Aline give Jace a look of pure adoration while he was typing on his phone's keyboard.

"He'll give you a makeover," Alec continued.

"How do you know him?"

"He's his boyfriend," Jace interrupted. Sebastian looked at Alec who shrugged.

_One less to compete with_, he thought. But with Jace looking all golden next to him, he knew he didn't have much chance as long as they were in same room.

The elevator bell rang and they stepped off directly into what looked like a huge fashion studio filled with the light of early afternoon, with samples of fabrics hanging on the walls next to drawings and life-size dummies half-dressed and covered with needles. Pillars seemed to bear the weight of the ceiling and if he squinted Sebastian could swear there were sculptures of angels carved in the marble stone. The room was quiet and empty of people except for a weird-looking man with glittering spiky blue hair and an even weirder outfit, scribbling on what looked like a sketchpad. Alerted by the footsteps of Aline's boots, he looked up, his face illuminating.

"Alec, darling! What are you doing here?" He exclaimed, getting up. "Is everything alright?"

He walked up to them, lightly kissed Alec's lips and firmly shook Jace's hand.

"And you brought company," he noted, looking at Sebastian in the exact same way Jace had earlier at the DPD.

Sebastian swallowed and extended a hand. "Sebastian Verlac," he introduced himself. "This is Aline Penhallow."

"_Aline_? As in–"

Jace nodded. "I see." Magnus suppressed a laugh and offered her a smile.

Magnus looked so different from Alec, it was extremely hard to believe they were an actual couple. Where Alec was all dark blue and black and serious, Magnus was green and gold and glitter. His creativity transpired through every pore of his body. But there was a look in Alec's eyes as he stared at Magnus, thinking no one was looking at him, that gave Sebastian every reason he could have been looking for.

"What is this place?" Sebastian asked, his dark eyes searching for clues through the room.

Aline, who hadn't been paying attention to the boys at all, squealed.

"You're the creator of WolfsBane," she exclaimed in disbelief. "You are WolfsBane! We're in the secret headquarters, aren't we? Oh my god!"

"At your service." Magnus curtsied. "Welcome to my temple."

"Wolfs –what? What is she talking about?"

"Is that guy for real?" Magnus said, shooting an eyebrow up in a quizzical expression. "Get him out of here."

"That's exactly what I said!" Jace smiled proudly .

"How did the Agency recruit him?" Magnus asked, keeping an eye on Aline as she wandered through the studio with twinkles in her eyes.

Sebastian's mouth fell open.

"What the – how the hell does he know?" He shouted.

Alec and Jace exchanged a meaningful look; Magnus was trying hard not to burst out laughing.

"I told him," Alec said matter-of-factly. "Which I believe is my right."

"Bu – but –"

"I'm a Level 6 agent, you on the other hand are barely a Level 2," Alec spat through gritted teeth. "I've no lesson to receive from you."

"Of - Of course," Sebastian apologized. "Sorry."

"Alec dear, don't be rough," Magnus soothed.

"So we need you to work your magic," Jace said, ignoring the conversation. "He needs to be ready for tonight."

"What kind of magic are we talking about?"

"The kind that would help Newbie here charm a girl," he clarified.

"Do I want to know?" Magnus asked Alec, who shook his head in answer. "Alright."

"I know there's a lot of work," Jace smirked.

"I wouldn't want to sound pessimistic or anything but if he talks, you're screwed," Magnus said. "There's only so much I can do."

"Do your best and leave the talking to me," he smirked.

Alec caught a sight of Aline nodding fervently, her eyes on Jace and rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to slap her in the face.

"Ok, but I don't have much time. I promised Izzy and Clare I would meet them in an hour at Vera Wang's," Magnus continued.

"Why would they need to go to Vera Wang's? It's a wedding dresses store, isn't it? That's where Clary got her dress if I'm not mistaken," Jace said.

"Yep."

"Well? Who's getting married?" he asked.

"If it's not Clary, who do you think it is?" Magnus asked, hands on his hips.

"Isabelle." Jace's eyes went wide. Sebastian thought surprise didn't suit him.

"Wait. Izzy is getting married? My sister Izzy?" Alec repeated in disbelief.

"Why? Do you know another one?" Jace inquired.

"Shut up Jace!" he exclaimed. "When did that happen?"

"This morning," Magnus informed them.

"Why didn't Lewis call us?"

"He did, but it seemed your phones didn't work," Magnus said. "If you could do anything to change that by the way, nobody would mind. Especially me and Clary."

Sebastian thought he heard him add, "It's hard to make a booty call if there's no one there to answer it," but wasn't sure.

Magnus grabbed his coat – a cotton bright green one – off the hanger and started walking toward the elevator. "Well don't stay there!"

"Where are we going?" Sebastian asked.

"Hairdresser, then optician, then beautician, then Rolex, then Saks, and probably Starbucks for a Venti caramel macchiato," Magnus sighed. "Like I said, there's _a lot_ of work to do."

* * *

><p>Keep reviewing!<p>

See ya!^^

Lilly


	6. Tempted

Hey hey! I know you missed Jace and Clary, so just for you guys a little bit of lemonade in this chapter! It wasn't planned but I think it fits in quite well!

The plan is finally in action!

Enjoy, Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: Tempted <strong>

Clary was very aware of eyes ogling her as she waited with Isabelle in front of the Vera Wang Store. She understood why. She had been in such a hurry when she had left her house that she had slipped into the first clothes she could find, which consisted of a straight, high-waist-mid-thigh skirt with the picture of an old rainbow striped Mini parked on the grass in front of a castle with a short loose orange top and orange flat sandals. The result was original and sophisticated but it made Clary feel uncomfortable. Isabelle was leaning against the wall with her new engagement-ringed hand gently rubbing her belly, shooting murderous glares to any man who dared approach Clary.

"Where the hell is Magnus?" Isabelle exclaimed. Clary shrugged. "Well we better go inside before you get eye-raped by some idiotic moron," she suggested.

Clary shook her head, a smile on her lips.

"I know you don't need one, but you could have at least put a bra on," Isabelle reprimanded her. "No wonder we're being harassed by half the New York male population."

"We're not!" Clary replied, crossing her arms on her chest, blushing.

"Sorry; the _unmarried and unengaged_ New York male population," Isabelle rectified with a smirk.

"Let's just go inside," she scowled, her hand already on the door's handle.

"Clary! Izzy!"

The girls turned around. "Finally," Isabelle muttered. "We need to buy him a watch."

Clary was about to scowl again at Isabelle when her eyes caught the sight of blond hair just behind her colorful-looking friend. "Jace?"

He sauntered toward her,

Jace smiled. "Surprise," he said, scooping her off the floor, his lips already on hers. She wrapped her hands around his neck, tangling her fingers in his baby-soft curls and sighed against his mouth.

Magnus coughed loudly and Jace let Clary go. "Hey Aline," she greeted with an honest smile.

The fair haired girl – since when has Aline's hair been blond and not black, Clary wondered – glared at her, looking scornfully at what she was wearing. "Bitch," she thought she heard but when she turned her head to her, Aline just smiled the most hypocritical smile ever. Clary decided to ignore her; she never really liked Aline anyway. Her husband's personal assistant was stuck to him like an overly-perfumed leech.

He was about to say something but stopped abruptly. "What is it that you're wearing?"

"Don't you recognize one of my brilliant pieces when you see one?" Magnus laughed. "And I must say Clary: Bravo, the combination is just perfect and Izzy, the blue leather belt to cut the long drape of the dress is pure genius." He shortly applauded them while Jace's expression had stiffened.

Jace took Clary's hand and kept her close to him. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Am I the only one who wants to know why you didn't tell me you were getting married?" Alec almost shouted, slowly losing his composure.

"Simon said he'd call you," Isabelle answered, her hands on her hips. "It's not my fault if you can't bother to pick up the damn phone. Beside, you're all invited to dinner at our place. Mom and Dad are going to be there."

Alec looked surprised and exchanged a look with Jace who undiscernibly nodded. "Ok," he said. "Sorry."

Isabelle's irritation instantly vanished and she hugged her brother. Just behind him, staring at them, was a young man with dark hair and brown eyes. She frowned. "What is it?" Alec asked. "Is the baby okay?"

"Is this creep following you?" she asked, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"This is Sebastian," Jace said laughing. "He's a colleague."

Sebastian stepped forward and extended a hand to Clary who shook it shyly. "I'm Clary," she introduced herself when he released her hand.

"My wife," Jace added with a smirk and Sebastian looked startled.

"Your wife? I don't think I've seen it mentioned in your file," Sebastian said.

Alec's eyes went wide and Jace looked as if he were considering punching him. Sebastian realized that if Magnus knew about the Agency, this didn't necessarily mean that Clary knew. He slapped himself mentally.

"Your file? Like an employee's file?" Clary asked. "Oh, you worked in Human Resources?"

"Yes!" Sebastian, Jace and Alec exclaimed together. "That is exactly what I do."

Jace looked at Clary, a mask of shy innocence and confusion painted on her face. He would have kissed her right now, if he didn't think she would have found it weird. "Well, we've been married for over two years, so maybe it's time you changed that," she said and shrugged.

"And I'm Isabelle Lightwood, Alec's sister. Sorry about the 'creep' part by the way," Isabelle apologized.

"No problem, Ma'am," Sebastian said, shaking her hand in turn.

Isabelle bit down her lip and flinched at the sound of "Ma'am" but flashed a fake smile at Sebastian.

"What's he doing here?" she asked. "What are you all doing here for that matter? Magnus should be here ,but you guy shouldn't, and we all know how important work is for you bankers. So what gives?"

"Iz, be happy instead of being suspicious. Besides it can't be good for the baby or your mental stability," Clary said, intertwining her fingers with Jace's.

"They need a favor," Magnus started, he pointed at Sebastian. "This fine looking specimen here needs a makeover before his first date with a lady tonight. And I thought that with my genius, Clary's artistic visions and Isabelle's keen sense of fashion, he would be in good hands."

"Consider us the credit card," Jace said.

"Did I ever consider you as anything else?" Isabelle asked with a smirk.

"Not bad, Lightwood," Jace answered, bowing in respect.

"I learned from the master, Herondale," she smiled.

"You two are worse than real siblings you know that?" Alec said. Clary laughed.

"So I reckon you are in?" Magnus asked.

"Well, we were planning on taking a bridal appointment," Clary started.

"Don't move," Magnus said and disappeared in the store. He came out only a few minutes later, a white flower-printed paper in his hands. "There," he said putting the card in Isabelle's bag. "For the day after tomorrow."

"What?" Isabelle and Clary gasped. "How did you do that? There's a two-month waiting list!"

"I'm WolfsBane," Magnus simply whispered, twinkles sparkling in his eyes. "I don't wait for anything. Let's go."

**xXx**

"Damn it," she groaned.

Clary was desperately trying to zip a blue printed shirt up, but it seemed impossible, unless she could somehow dislocate her shoulder. She was standing in front of the full-length mirror in a fitting room's cabin, her orange top laying at her feet with her bag. She sighed and mumbled unintelligible curses under her breath. While waiting for Sebastian to get out of the beauty salon, they had decided to pass the time by shopping at Macy's.

"Is everything okay, honey?" Jace asked against the door.

"No, I can't zip up the damn thing," Clary explained, half whining in frustration.

"Let me in."

She unlocked the door and, before she could realize what was happening her legs were wrapped around Jace's waist. "What are you–?"

"There can't be the both of us in here," he explained. "Feet," he added to her confused face, gesturing at the door with his head.

"Right," Clary said. "And how do you explain that the shirt you were supposed to zip up for me is now on the floor?" she asked.

"Just an extra touch," Jace smiled.

"You know you can put me on the bench?" Clary asked.

"Where is the fun in that?" Jace replied, kissing her shoulder which sent uncontrollable shivers through Clary.

Clary shook her head. "Where are the others?"

"I don't really want to talk about them right now," Jace answered.

"Oh no, I know that look," Clary warned. "We're not having sex in Macy's fitting rooms!"

"Why not?" Jace asked, his hands resting on the back of her thighs slowly pulling up her skirt.

"Well, for starters I'm not in the mood." That was a lie and obviously it was painted all over her face. She went on anyway. "Second–"

She was interrupted by Jace's mouth gently brushing hers. "We never got to finish what we started this morning in the shower."

"And you want to continue that _now_?" Clary exclaimed and he nodded. "That's really not a good idea," she said but the last words were lost in a half-cried moan as Jace ran his tongue through the valley between her breasts.

"We'll have to be very quiet," he told her and all she could do was nod, biting her lip.

She kissed him hungrily then, unbuttoning his shirt as fast as her trembling hands could. Every trace of doubt or reluctance had vanished. He kept on kissing her: neck, mouth, shoulder, breast, stomach, he seemed to be everywhere at once, leaving her skin hot and burning. Her whole body was aching as Clary unzipped his pants. He tried to pull her skirt high enough so he could take her panties off but she stopped him.

"Am I still grounded?" he asked, half-smirking half-panting.

"No," she answered. "Don't ruin my skirt, I don't want to go home in my panties."

He nodded, suppressing a laugh, and took it off hastily. He kissed her again and she opened her mouth, letting their tongues battle for dominance. He pinned her against the cold wall, and she buried her head in his shoulder when he slid his fingers into her wet panties.

She shut her eyes and tightened her grip around him, clenching her teeth, her muscles tensed.

"Jace," she moaned, pressing him harder against her.

He smiled as she clutched his hair. Her panties landed on the floor seconds later, then his boxers.

She reached for him then, and guided him inside her. She clung to him fiercely as they bucked and panted together in a frantic rhythm. Clary's head shot up, with each thrust she felt as if Jace was opening her anew. Her mind was still conscious that at any moment someone could come in and catch them. She looked at Jace's beautiful face, tense with desire, and everything else disappeared as they moved together, the hot burning always increasing. Her hands had left his hair and were freely exploring his chest, tracing each line of muscle with the tip of her finger. The fear of hurting his bruised skin had vanished the night before. She put both her hands on her mouth, praying that she wouldn't scream. Sweat rolled down her forehead and into her eyes. Through the blur of sweat rolling in her eyes, she could she Jace smile as he pushed himself deeper into her, holding her with strong hands, mastering his strength and keeping her gasping and wanting more.

She found his mouth, and crushed hers against it. She felt as if she were going insane. She needed to scream and moan and tell him how much she loved him, how much she loved _this_.

"Jace," she whispered, her voice tight and unsteady.

Three short knocks on the door of the cabin made her jump. Jace on the other hand, didn't stop, but he sensibly slowed down.

"Ma'am, is everything ok?" a concerned voice asked. "Do you need anything?"

"N–no," Clary said, ignoring Jace's grin as he lightly licked a pink nipple. She tried to move and take a deep breath but it only increased the pleasure. "I – _oh God –_ the dress – it's tight but it's okay."

"Okay," the female voice answered and Clary relaxed at the sound of heels walking away.

The pace picked up almost as soon as the sound faded. She rested her head against the wall, letting Jace do whatever he wanted to her. She arched her back as if she could press herself harder against him, her skin on fire. There was so much to feel: his burning hands on her thighs, his nails digging into her skin without hurting her, his mouth sometimes on her throat, sometimes on her mouth, and sometimes on her breasts. Clary felt she might explode from desire.

She bit her lip as hard as she could and lost control as her body shook with spasms…

Once they were dressed again and Clary had smoothed her hair with her hands, she kissed Jace's lips and they went out of the cabin, acting as naturally as possible. The woman with the heels frowned, then smiled.

"I'll take it," Clary said, lifting the shirt up.

"And thanks for the service," Jace added with a grin. "It was impeccable, as usual."

**xXx**

Pandemonium wasn't Tatiana Pangborn's first choice for a party, but her friends insisted on going and she didn't want to spend the night wandering the streets of New York looking for something better to do. If only people knew what could go on down there, they would probably think twice about coming at all.

She wasn't much of a party enthusiast but her friend Jessamine had finally graduated from college and wanted to celebrate it with what she liked to call "a wild night out". The club was very dark, as usual, and Tatiana found herself wrapped in artificial smoke. Her voice was drowned out by the booming of the music as she tried to call for her friends who were already on the dance floor. She sighed and walked to the bar where she sat on a stool.

"What can I get you, honey?" the bartender, a tall man with spiky green hair, dark blue lipstick, and tattoos spiraling around the large biceps of his arms, asked with a smirk.

"Vodka martini," Tatiana answered without smiling back. "And don't call me honey."

"A feisty one, I love those," he said, licking his lips, detailing her outfit.

She crossed her hands on her chest, covering the top part of her silver bustier dress. He put the drink on a coaster in front of her.

"On the house," he offered.

Tatiana faked a smile and took the glass to her lips. But before her lips dipped into the transparent liquid, she stopped. He was looking at her intently. She knew exactly what it meant and she squinted and saw the remaining of the microscopic pill evaporating in thousands of bubbles. The rage flew through her at the speed of light, she threw the glass in the bartender's face who screamed in surprise – a high pitched girl's scream. Momentarily blinded, he didn't have time to see her reach for his neck across the bar and could only scream some more when his face went crashing against the hard painted metal in a sickening noise.

Tatiana spun around, flipping her hair above her shoulder and marched away, her hands knotted in two fists. She peered through the dancing crowd, looking for Jessamine but she couldn't make out her single head. The dancers seemed to move as one, jumping together, rocking back and forth together, moving their head from left to right together. She took her phone out and texted her, saying she was going to leave, and shoved her phone back in her blue clutch. She turned around and –

"Hey!" she shrieked as an ice cold liquid poured down the cleavage of her dress. She took a deep breath, remembering what her father used to say about anger management. She clenched her teeth together.

"Sorry," the young man said, his face a mask of fear. "I'm so stupid!"

She looked at him, a smile pulling the corner of her lips up. He was beautiful, casually dressed in a short sleeved white T-shirt that glowed purple in the ultra-violet light, revealing an intricate pattern of tattoos on his left arm and along his neck, and black jeans. His ink black hair tangled on the top of his head, and his dark eyes still focused on cleaning the sticky mess of his glass' content off her dress, without even realizing how close he was to actually rubbing her breasts. She bit her lip and put two fingers under his chin, lifting his head to her eye level. His cheeks slightly flushed.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated, his voice lowering as the full impact of her beauty hit him. He shook his head. "I'll pay for the cleaner, I–" He took out his wallet from his back pocket.

"I'm Tatiana," she said.

"Se– Declan," he answered, offering her a sticky hand. She looked at it and laughed. "Sorry," he said again.

"Do you want to get out of here?" she asked.

"I– Sure," he said as she slipped a hand around his waist and gently pushed him outside of the club.

* * *

><p>Just for info: Tatiana is not a bad person, she's just not a woman to be messed with ^^<p>

R&R

See you soon,

Lilly.


	7. Taking chances

Hey hey! I come bearing gifts LOL. Not gifts but another chapter^^ This is exciting !

Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Six: Taking Chances<strong>

Jonathan sighed, leaning back in the leather armchair next to his father's. Emil was sitting in front of them, his hands properly folded on the massive oak desk.

"You realize that what you're asking for is – how can I put this – very difficult to find?" Emil said.

"And I know, dear Emil, that if there's one person who can get me a list of all the real identities of the covert agents at the CIA, it would be you," Valentine answered calmly.

"That is a long list," Emil replied. "You wouldn't have any more information, I suppose?"

"A little bird told me what I'm looking for is in the New York Domestic Protection Division," Valentine explained. "I am not sure, however, that I can trust this bird. It tends to change sides very quickly."

"It tended, Father," Jonathan replied, the cruel smile on his lips sending chills down Emil's spine.

"Oh, yes," Valentine agreed. "It is not among us anymore."

"That, I think I can manage," Emil said. "The NY DPD is not as secure as the CIA believes they are."

"How long?" Valentine asked.

"A week." Emil exchanged a look with one of his body guards. Jonathan recognized him as Malachi Dieudonné, Emil and Anson's right arm and occasional hit man. Malachi slightly nodded. "Maybe two. I tell you what, why don't you enjoy New York until I contact you? It _is_ really beautiful in the summer."

"Very well," Valentine agreed and stood up, followed by Jonathan.

"The apartment is yours for as long as you need it," Emil added.

"That's very generous," Valentine thanked him. "But I found a quieter place for us to live."

Jonathan frowned, he didn't know about this. Not that it mattered to him at all. If they were staying longer than he had thought then–

"Jonathan," Valentine said and he blinked, brought back to the reality.

"What?"

"Did you take a look at the room like I've asked you to do?" Valentine asked.

"Of course," Jonathan answered. "His safe is in the room adjacent, state-of-the-art."

"Do you think you'll be able to break it?"

"I just don't see why you wouldn't pay him," Jonathan said, an exasperated sigh escaping his lips. "The Pangborns aren't good enemies to have."

"I'll pay for the list," Valentine said, "there's something else he owes me though. And I intend to find it."

"What is it about?" Jonathan asked curiously. The look on his father's face was strangely familiar.

Valentine, he had come to realize, never yelled at him. He always spoke with a measured tone, whether he was angry or disappointed or happy – although the occurrences of this last one were extremely rare; it was more satisfaction than happiness. But his eyes were as clear as any words. And what Jonathan saw was a deeply buried rage that he had a hard time to control.

"Your mother."

Jonathan fell silent. He didn't want to talk about her. Ever.

"What were you thinking about?" Valentine finally asked.

"Nothing of importance, Father," he answered and stepped out of the elevator, his hands stuffed in his pants' pockets.

Jonathan pushed the thought of Reyna Branwell aside and smiled because, suddenly, Clarissa wasn't so inaccessible anymore.

**xXx**

Sebastian's heart was racing in his chest. It was eleven in the morning and he was supposed to have called Jules almost two hours ago. But Tatiana was half-lying on top of him, her head resting on his chest, so he comforted himself in the idea that there wasn't much he could do.

"Wow," she whispered and kissed the skin under her lips. "Don't take this the wrong way, okay? But you're much better than what I expected."

"Thanks, I guess," Sebastian answered, a smile slowly forming on his lips. It always felt good to be appreciated.

Tatiana was really beautiful, the kind of girl he thought he'd never have a chance with. She had light brown hair, falling in heavy curls on her naked back, damp with sweat and sticking to her skin. Her hazel eyes were mesmerizing and her body was perfect. He couldn't stop caressing her soft skin, and smiled again when he felt her shiver under the tip of his fingers.

She had taken him home the night before. And for Tatiana, home was a large apartment in the Upper West Side with a breath-taking view of Central Park from her bedroom's French windows.

Sebastian wasn't sure what he had expected, but whatever it had been, she had exceeded every one of them. He wasn't even sure he had slept at all, or how many times they had sex because to him, it seemed to have lasted until dawn.

It pained him to admit that Jace had been right. Tatiana had seen all kind of tough-looking guys in her life and she probably fell for him because he was clumsy and shy instead of cocky and arrogant. The thought of Jace failing at any attempt of shyness pleased him; but again, he had never seen Jace in action.

"What are you thinking about, Declan Carter?" Tatiana asked, propping herself onto her elbows, her chin on her hands. Sebastian lost his train of thoughts at the sight of her hair, gracefully hiding most of her breasts. She caught his wandering eyes on her and bit her lip.

Sebastian didn't have much experience with women. His last girlfriend had been with him for almost five years and before that he had just tried to go through high school without dying, which when he did –graduate high school that is – he thought it was a miracle.

"No—nothing," he said, shrugging.

Tatiana brought the sheet around her chest, sitting up cross-legged.

"_I_ know what you're thinking," she said and her face darkened. "'_How the hell am I going to get out of here if she's awake?_' Don't bother, if you want to leave just go."

"No!" Sebastian replied and straightened up. He coughed. "Last night was... great, I was just going to invite you for brunch or something, but I thought that maybe _you_ wanted just a one night stand."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Tatiana asked in disbelief.

"If you count brunch as a date then I guess so, yeah. Why?"

"No, I just —nothing." She shook her head. When she looked at him again a crooked smile had perked up her lips. "Wanna join me in the shower?"

"I'll be right there," Sebastian said, swallowing hard as she let the sheets fall, revealing her entire body. "I just need to call work."

"Okay," she said, kissing his lips, and straddled him. She felt him harden under the thin fabric of the blue sheets. She licked his lips and smiled. "But don't take _too_ long."

**xXx**

Jace was rocking back and forth in the tech operation room. The DPD was awfully quiet that morning. Aline was frenetically typing on the keyboard of her computer, absorbed in her screens. They were waiting for Sebastian's phone call and how to proceed from his progress.

"How do you think he's doing?" Alec asked, reading files as usual.

"If he worked that shy angle like I told him to, fine," Jace answered. "Why? What is it?" he asked. He could read the concern on Alec's face.

"Nothing I–I just can't shake the feeling that Valentine is here for us," he said.

"Valentine doesn't even know who we really are," Jace replied, setting his coffee mug on the table.

"He knows we're American for starters," Alec countered. "That's something."

"Yeah, he just has 3.8 million square miles to search, I'm sure he's real close," Jace sighed.

"Could you be serious just for a minute?" Alec demanded, trying to keep his voice as steady as he could. "We're not talking about the possibility that he might one day in the future decide to come here and look blindly for us, Valentine is way too smart for that. If he's here, it means that he has something."

"How could you possibly know that, Alec?" Jace asked. "We're not the only thing he's after."

"Does it really matter?" Alec replied. "Do you want him to – I don't know – stumble upon Clary."

"What are the chances of that?" Jace said, anger rising in his voice; anger caused by the simple mention of Clary. "One in twenty-two million?"

Alec shook his head and Jace straightened up. He was about to say something but the shrieking sound of Aline's ringtone cut him off.

"Hello?" she said. "Oh Sebastian! We were worried about you!"

Jace snapped his fingers at her and she immediately handed him the phone which he put on speaker as Alec settled on the chair across his.

"Verlac, you're late," Jace said.

"I know, sorry," Sebastian whispered. "Things have been a little crazy."

"Where are you?" Alec asked.

"At Tatiana's. She's in the shower." Jace couldn't help but smile. "I'm taking her out for brunch."

"Try to get her to talk about herself, as much as possible," Jace ordered. "She needs to open up about her father."

"Okay," Sebastian said.

"While you're at it, check her organizer," Jace said. "It should be in her bedside table."

There was a ruffling sound while he was searching, and then he picked the phone back up.

"How did you kn– never mind – I got it. Oh. There's a party tonight. A masquerade ball, at the American Society Building, she's supposed to have dinner with her father at eight and then go to this thing."

"A masquerade ball, you said?" Jace looked up at Alec, an ear-to-ear smile on his mouth and a twinkle in his golden eyes.

"You have to get her to invite you," Alec said, rolling his eyes at Jace. "This is important."

"I'll try."

"Don't try," Jace said, "Succeed. We'll see you tonight."

**xXx**

"Clary, this is Maia Roberts and her fiancé Jordan Kyle," Laurel introduced the couple before going back to typing on her phone. Clary rolled her eyes.

_I swear, that thing is glued to her hand_, she thought.

Clary smiled, her hair plaited in a long fiery braid on her shoulder. She was wearing a liberty-printed short dress with blue polished ballerinas. "Everyone's getting engaged," she noticed. "Must be a summer thing. Anyway nice to meet you."

She shook both their hands. Maia was surprised. She had imagined Clary to have that crazy look of pure-but-completely-insane genius in her eyes but she could only see warmth and kindness. Clary looked like the kind of girl you hated because she was nice to everyone and everyone loved her. You just wanted to be her friend because you knew she would show you a good time.

Maia and Jordan had met Laurel at the Golden Door Gallery down in Brooklyn at 11:30 and Clary had showed up right on time. Jordan was holding Killian in his arms, the little boy babbling as his eyes watched the flying birds in the park behind them, as if they were magical creatures.

"Oh, he's so cute!" Clary awed. "What's his name?"

"Killian," Jordan answered, tousling the baby's golden brown hair.

"Can I hold him?" she blurted out. Maia nodded and Jordan handed her Killian. "He's really beautiful and he looks –" She stared at them for several seconds, glancing back and forth from Maia to Jordan to Killian. "Like both of you, actually."

Maia smiled. "How many do _you_ have?"

"What?" Clary's head, which was absorbed in Killian's giggles as she tickled him, popped up.

"Kids. How many kids do you have? You're a mother, aren't you?"

"Oh no, not yet." Clary smiled and Maia thought she saw a flash of sadness in Clary's emerald eyes.

"Well," Maia said as Clary handed her Killian back, "I'm sure you're going to be a great mom."

"Thank you," Clary said, her cheeks blushing. "So Laurel told me that you wanted me to paint Killian's bedroom?"

"That would be great, yes," Jordan said. "Maia showed me what you did at Pauline Merriweather's house and I thought it was breathtaking."

"Do you have any ideas about what you want?"

"Tons," Maia laughed and Clary joined her.

"How about we discuss it over dinner?" Jordan suggested. "Are you and your husband free tomorrow night?"

"That sounds good."

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><p><strong>Read &amp; Review <strong>

See you soon! (Maybe tomorrow ^^)

Lilly


	8. Baby talk

Hey guys ! This chapter is dedicated to lilianneherondale, thanks for your reviews and for loving this story , you inspired this chapter so I really hope you like it too!

Enjoy, Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Baby Talk <strong>

Alec spotted Magnus as soon as he entered the park. His boyfriend was enjoying the view, sketching distractedly on his pad, a huge box of colored pencils settled next to him on the bench. The children passing by were staring at him with a funny look on their faces and a little girl, wearing a pink and white striped dress with ribbons in her strawberry blond pigtails, was sitting right next to him, watching him draw. She seemed like she wanted to help him, pointing at certain parts of a drawing Alec couldn't see. He adjusted his sunglasses on his nose and walked to them.

"Hey," he said waving awkwardly at them.

"Hey darling!" Magnus flashed him two rows of perfectly immaculate teeth. "This is Rose," he added pointing to the little girl who waved shyly at Alec, her cheeks red. "Rosie, this is Alec."

"Is he your sweetheart?" Rose asked, tilting her head to the side, watching Alec with a look he couldn't decipher.

"Yes, he is," Magnus laughed. Alec blushed.

"Hi," Alec said again.

"I should go," Rose said getting up. "My mom will be back soon. Can I keep your drawing?" she asked.

"Of course, honey," Magnus said, tearing out the page and giving it to her.

"Thank you. Will you be here tomorrow?" she asked.

"Maybe, I don't know."

Rose looked disappointed and Alec wondered how long those two had been sitting together.

"But I'm sure we'll see each other again," Magnus added, gently pinching her cheek. She nodded, a smile back on her lips, and ran away, disappearing behind a line of huge trees.

"She's cute, isn't she?" Magnus smiled. "And very talented too." He showed him a child's drawing of a princess and what was probably a unicorn but looked like the giant offspring of a rat, a dog and a rhinoceros to Alec. There was also a lot of pink and purple and the horse was covered in glitter. Alec frowned.

"Nice," he said.

"Liar," Magnus retorted. "But it's okay, I love you anyway." Alec smiled and sat next to him. Magnus took his hand in his and rested his head on his strong shoulder.

Silence settled. Alec didn't mind, he didn't feel the need to talk on and on when he was with Magnus. If there was nothing to be said why say anything? The fresh breeze softly blowing in his hair and on his face was pleasant. New York was so hot in July, it was almost unbearable.

"Do you ever think about them?" Magnus asked, tracing invisible designs on Alec's forearm.

"About what?"

"Kids."

Taken aback, Alec's head snapped toward Magnus with huge blue eyes. Magnus covered his mouth with his hand and tried not to laugh.

"Relax baby," he said, but when the word '_baby'_ came out Alec's already horrified expression intensified. "Sorry."

"You want a _baby_," Alec gasped. It sounded like an assertion, not a question. Magnus stared at him, perfectly still. Alec wasn't scared, he thought, he was panicking.

"Hey," Magnus said cupping his boyfriend's face in his hand. "Calm down, Alexander."

"Don't call me that," Alec snapped. Magnus giggled.

"It was just a question," Magnus assured him, gently patting his shoulder. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm not scared." Alec's breathing was steadying. "Do you want children?" he asked.

"Eventually, yes," Magnus shrugged. "I've always seen myself with a big family."

"You never told me that," Alec said.

"We've never talked about it," Magnus replied with a sweet and tender smile.

Alec nodded. His eyes were so blue, Magnus realized. If they had a kid – or five like he had imagined a few weeks after meeting Alec – this was what he wanted him to look like. Shy and beautiful, like Alec. "I want children too." Alec's voice was only a whisper now.

"And you're going to be a wonderful dad," Magnus said. He filled the space between them and kissed him. When they broke up, gasping for air, Alec added, "But not now, right?"

Magnus chuckled. "No, not now, honey," he agreed. "How about we give each other another a year?"

**xXx**

"We're not naming our baby after your great grandmother, Simon!" Isabelle shouted, marching into the kitchen.

The warm light of the early afternoon poured in through the French doors, bathing the room in yellow sunlight. Isabelle was wearing a bathrobe loosely tied above her stomach. Her hair was disheveled and spiked in every direction and she was holding a rolled up pancake in her hand. Simon followed her inside, in jeans and white t-shirt.

Rebecca and Savannah might have gone home the night before after dinner, but she felt like they were still here, talking through Simon's mouth.

"Why not?" Simon scolded. "It's my baby, too."

Isabelle shot him a murderous glare. "I know that." He poured himself a coffee trying to avoid looking at her, which only served at igniting her anger. "Look at me!"

He spun around, his mouth in a thin line. "What?"

Her eyes went wide. Simon never shouted. Never.

She felt her voice die in her throat. "Do you really want to call our baby _Gertrude_?" She rubbed her belly.

Simon's face fell. "Of course not," he admitted. "I just want to have a say in our baby's name." He ran a hand through his brown hair and glanced at his watch. "But it's like you don't care about what I think." He rubbed his temples and sighed. "I'm late for work." He grabbed his briefcase and went for the door.

"I thought you weren't going to work today?" Isabelle said. "It's already two in the afternoon."

"Well, I changed my mind," Simon muttered. "I need some air."

Isabelle grabbed his jacket before he could leave. "Please stay," she begged. "I'm sorry. You're right it's just…"

Simon frowned. "Well, your mom is putting a lot of pressure on me. First I'm not Jewish, then I'm pregnant but we're not married. She's a very difficult woman to satisfy. But you're right, it's no reason to take it out on you. I'm really sorry, baby."

Simon smiled as she put her head in the crook of his neck. He set the briefcase on the chest against the wall in the entryway, his eyes closing. Isabelle took it as an invitation and started nibbling on his earlobe, her arms wrapped around his waist, pressing her body against his back. She heard him moan and forced him to turn toward her. Then she kissed him hungrily, feeling a wave of heat rushing through her body.

"Izzy," he whispered as she unzipped his jeans. "No."

She ignored him, letting her bathrobe fall at her feet revealing the blue lacy lingerie she had on. Simon licked his suddenly dry lips and sucked his breath in. His heart started pounding loudly in his chest, echoing in his ears.

"Izzy," he repeated. "Please."

"What? It's not my fault you're so hot!" She bit her lip seductively.

"You do know it's your hormones talking, right?" Simon said.

"They know what they want and so do I," Isabelle stated, her hands caressing the skin of his flat stomach. "You."

"Baby, I can't. I'm exhausted," Simon grabbed her by the wrists. "You won't me let have any sleep, I'm not a machine and even if I were, my batteries would be dead anyway."

Isabelle snorted. "Do you know how many guys would love getting laid eight times a day?" she asked, her face a painting of pure innocence.

He purposely avoided looking right at her because he knew, the moment his eyes would start wandering on her transparent blue negligée, slowly caressing the curve of her breasts, he would lose.

"Okay. How about," Isabelle continued, "I make you a deal?"

"What kind of deal?" Simon asked, curiously amused.

She smiled and sat on the chest, her legs hanging in the air. "We go upstairs and make love and I'll let you sleep," she proposed.

Simon almost laughed. "That's not a deal _per se,_ but continue," he said.

"When you wake up, we'll choose the name of our baby together and I'll even agree to listen to your ridiculous ideas." Isabelle gazed at him, a ferocious look in her blue eyes.

"That's still not a deal," Simon repeated, but sighed. "You promise you'll let me sleep?"

Isabelle grinned. For a split second, Simon thought she grinned like Jace but he pushed that thought away. "Promise."

**xXx**

Clary re-read the invitation for what seemed to Jace as the hundredth time. She was sitting on the table in the kitchen, watching as Jace cooked them a late lunch. She was still surprised that his bosses at Alicante Banking group and Corporation let him finish so early two days in a row but she was too happy to question it.

"A masquerade ball? And you want to go?" She asked.

Jace cooking was kind of a sight, she thought. The first time he had invited her over for dinner at his apartment, she had expected take away or a cataclysmic mess in the small open kitchen but she couldn't have been more wrong. Jace was efficient and neat, precise and quite talented, although she tried not to compliment him too much, knowing it was better not to fuel his ego.

"Yes," Jace nodded, handing her a glass of red wine. "It's a company thing but I thought it would be fun you know; Alec and Mags are going to be there."

"And let me guess, Magnus has already sent over a ball dress and a mask for me to wear." Clary sighed, but couldn't keep the smile away.

"Next time we'll stay home and snuggle in front of a movie, I promise." Jace shot her a dazzling smile over his shoulder.

"Okay," Clary muttered. "But on one condition."

"I'm listening," Jace said, tasting a home-made tomato sauce out of a wooden spoon.

"Tomorrow we're invited to the Kyles," Clary quickly explained how she met Maia and Jordan in the morning. "And you won't get out of this one."

"Deal," he turned and quickly kissed her lips before getting back to lunch.

Clary smiled and took a sip of wine. It felt so right to have Jace here with her. He had been working so much lately, flying around the world, leaving early in the morning only to come very late at night. The penthouse was too big for her to be alone in.

She thought about Maia, Jordan and Killian; Isabelle, Simon and the baby, and how it made her so happy to hold little Killian in her arms or feel the baby kick in Isabelle's belly.

"I think I want a baby," Clary said out of the blue.

Jace, caught off guard, dropped the spoon on the floor. He turned around, his face a mask of surprise and confusion.

"I don't understand," he said looking Clary in the eye.

"I want a baby," she repeated calmly, but felt her cheeks heating up. She found his golden gaze was almost oppressing.

"Where is that coming from?" Jace asked. "You never–"

"It's coming from _me_ loving _you_ so much I want to carry _your_ child," Clary said, cutting him off, offended by Jace's reaction.

"That's not what I meant, sweetie," Jace said, "We need to talk about this, you can't just drop that on me like that."

"Why not?" Clary asked.

"I don't know what you expected me to say," Jace said so low that Clary almost thought he was talking to himself.

"That it was what you wanted, too," Clary said, hopping off the table. "But clearly I was wrong." She walked toward the living room but Jace caught her arm before she could leave.

"Honey," Jace said cupping her face in his hands. "I _do_ want a family with you. You know that don't you?"

"But not right now," Clary finished for him. She bit her lips, praying for the tears to stay behind her eyes.

"I– It's complicated," Jace said. He looked hurt, Clary thought, though she didn't understand why.

"It's about work, isn't it?" She guessed.

Jace didn't say anything.

"Why won't you talk about it?" Clary almost begged. "It's like each time I bring it up you shut me off! Why? What is so terrible you can't talk to me about it?"

"I don't want to have this fight right now," Jace said and turned back to his burning sauce. He bent to pick up the spoon.

Clary stood still. "You're doing it right now, it's like a wall that pops up out of nowhere! Jace!" she screamed.

"Let it go, Clary," he simply asked her, but his voice was cold and distant.

And the tears just poured out of her eyes as if a tap had been turned on.

She grabbed her invitation and stormed off. A few seconds later he heard the front door slamming and sighed. He wanted to tell her why, to explain that he was only doing it to protect her, that if it was only up to him he'd give her as many babies as she wanted. He inhaled deeply before running a hand through his hair, leaning against the counter, hands clenched in tensed fists.

He wouldn't let Valentine break him and Clary apart. Never.

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><p>So how should Isabelle and Simon name their baby girl?<p>

Read and Review!

I love you all guys!

Lilly


	9. Masquerade

Hey ! Another update ^^ Yay! You know, it's great living in France because each time I post a new chapter I get the reviews in the morning when I wake up and there's no better way to start my day than to read what you guys think! So continue reviewing to make my day start on the right foot (I think that's the expression, right?)

So Jack Force asked me yesterday: _Why didn't Clary and Jace spend some more time with each other instead of working?_ Well Jace's work at the DPD takes a lot of his time –when I say a lot it's a lot _lot_– but when he's not working he's devoted to Clary which I think Is a good thing^^ This whole adventure with Valentine will –hopefully– teach him a life lesson.

If any of you guys have question leave a review or PM me, I'm always glad to answer^^

Keep reviewing^^

Now let's get to the story!

Love,

Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Masquerade<strong>

The American Society building looked like a museum to Jonathan, or a throw back in time. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling above the massive marble staircase with a decorative black wrought iron railing and a velvet blood red carpet was laid onto the steps.

The ball room was located on the first floor of the building. It was lit by candle light and heavy velvet curtains hanging on the high windows were drawn, plunging the room into semi-darkness. Several other crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, casting twinkling shadows on the guests, floor, and walls. Masked waiters were walking through the room, serving champagne in long flutes on silver platters. The wooden floorboard seemed extremely slippery, especially when guests would start to drink and spill the contents of their flutes onto the floor, he thought. The room was crowded with people, too many for Jonathan's taste. His father had vanished among the crowd, leaving him behind and staring absentmindedly at the men and women in front of him. He tousled his freshly dyed hair and let the music distract him momentarily. The band was composed of two violinists, a harpist and a string bassist. Couples were swaying on the dance floor in twirling colors, feathers and shiny jewels.

His eyes snapped back into focus when, from the corner of his eyes, he spotted a red-headed beauty, walking uncomfortably into the room.

Jonathan held his breath. This time it was Clary for real, and she was breathtakingly gorgeous. Her fashion designer had transformed her into a graceful peacock, all in black, sapphire blue, emerald green and gold. The sweetheart neckline molded the shape of her breasts with long and large peacock feathers sewn across her chest, leaving her throat bare and exposed. Unlike most of the other women, the dress had been cut in the front, revealing her short legs, elongated by the high feathery black stilettos she had slipped into. He couldn't see the back very clearly but the satin black and blue train was visible, like an elegant tail sprouting from the puffy back of the gown. Her eyes were framed in a gold lace delicate mask, but their twinkling green was unmistakable. Her shiny red hair was falling around her shoulders, curled elegantly; and on the top of it sat a gold tiara, encrusted with sapphires and emeralds – whether they were true or not, Jonathan couldn't tell from where he was standing. Clary's eyes were peering through the crowd and when they settled on him, she squinted before running to him.

When Clary spotted Jace, she gathered her skirts and ran to him. After she had left the house, she had wandered the streets of SoHo aimlessly before going back home to apologize, not because she thought she had been wrong earlier but because each time she fought with Jace it was like she ripped out a part of herself.

He was handsome, dressed in a simple smoky black suit with a plain black mask. She grabbed his sleeve and tugged on it. He looked down, surprised. In the dim candlelight, his golden eyes looked almost black. She cupped his face with a hand and wrapped the other around his neck, pulling him closer. She crushed her lips on his. He kissed her back, his burning hands on her hips, but the kiss felt different, his lips harder than they usually were. It felt like kissing someone else.

"I'm so sorry," she kissed him again. "I hate it when we fight."

"Fight?" Jace repeated with a frown. His voice also sounded different, colder.

"Jace?" He kissed her again and the realization that this man wasn't her husband slapped her in the face. "You're not Jace."

She put her hands on her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I just – I confused you with my husband, we got into a fight and I–I can't find him because of all the masks and I thought because you're blond too," she stopped abruptly. "I need a drink," she said. "Again, I'm really sorry," she apologized into a group of guests, leaving him staring after her. Jonathan, who took his hand to his lips, still had the taste of Clary's kiss imprinted on his lips.

Tatiana was all red and black.

If Sebastian thought she had been beautiful the night before when he met her, that night she was gorgeous. He didn't know exactly how he had managed to get her to invite him. He had simply found all the excuses in the world to spend the whole day with her and at the end of it she invited him.

Tatiana was wearing the kind of ball gowns that emphasized every single curve of someone's body. The corset was red and tight-fitted with a straight neckline that showed a lot of skin without being vulgar. It molded to her bust, chest and hips before puffing in heavy black satin that fell to the ground. She was walking with elegance, as if she wore those kinds of clothes every day.

The ball room of the American Society building looked like an evening at Venice's carnival. Even the members of the band were wearing white wigs. He noticed that although all the women had dressed into extravagant gowns from another century, the men had kept it simple in smoky black or black and white suits.

"Are you looking for someone?" Tatiana asked. Her bright red lipstick made her mouth look so much bigger and so much more kissable that he had to force himself not to stare at it. Sebastian shook his head.

"No, I was just – admiring the view." He gestured to the whole room before his eyes settled on her again.

Tatiana smiled. "Well, I'm going to fetch myself a drink while you continue to – admire the view," she squeezed his hand. "I'll be right back."

His gaze followed her through the crowd until she vanished behind a broad-shouldered man.

"I see Tatiana's treating you well," a voice behind him smirked. Sebastian didn't have to turn around to see it was Jace, but he did.

"Is Pangborn here?" Alec asked immediately.

_That guy always cut to the chase_, Sebastian thought. _I like that_.

He and Magnus were wearing matching smoky black suits except Magnus had added a fancy scarf and a delirious multi-colored-jewel-encrusted mask. What he was doing here, Sebastian didn't know, but he was smiling at him.

"What?" He felt obligated to ask and was curious as to why he was always looked at this way when he was in Jace's or Magnus' presence.

"I'm just admiring my work," Magnus answered. "The girls were _so_ right about the hairstyle, suits you much better this way."

"Mags, we need to work," Jace sighed.

"Okay, sorry," Magnus shrugged but the smile hadn't left his face. "I'm going to see if I can find your wife anywhere so that you can _apologize_."

Sebastian frowned but Jace waved off his confusion with a wave of his hand. "None of your business. So is Pangborn here or not?"

"I don't know," Sebastian admitted and as soon as the words were out he regretted them.

"What do you think we're doing here?" Jace asked and though his mask was covering half of his face Sebastian could still see the anger mixed with disbelief in his eyes. "Setting you up with a hot girl so you can have your way with her? _Jesus_! What kind of operative are you?"

"Jace." Alec put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"Tatiana told me he'd be here a little late. He had, and I quote, 'an errand to run'."

"When he arrives introduce yourself," Jace said. "We'll expect him to do a background check sometime tonight and to call you back tomorrow since all of his little friends are spending the next two nights in jail."

"Okay." Sebastian nodded.

"And keep your eyes on Tatiana," Alec said.

"Alec's right," Jace agreed. "She's not your girlfriend, you can't let her run off like this! You're supposed to _watch_ her!"

Sebastian nodded again. "Sorry." He had never seen Jace on edge but it wasn't particularly pleasant. "Why did you come?" he asked. "I mean apart from checking on me."

"We –"

"And by _we_ Jace means _he_," Alec interrupted.

"_We_ have strong reasons to believe Valentine or Jonathan will be here tonight," Jace said. "So _we're_ looking for any of them."

"Why would he be here?" Sebastian wondered aloud but he couldn't hide the excitement in his voice and he stretched his neck, hoping he could spot the criminal mastermind he had read so much about.

"Well, while they wait for whatever they're after to be delivered, they have to enjoy themselves don't they? And since they're friends with the Pangborns I think they've been invited," Jace explained.

"That's your theory," Alec insisted. "_I_ think Jonathan's in a strip club and Valentine's writing a book about himself."

"If they were anywhere other than New York I would tend to agree," Jace replied. "But they're here."

"So yo–"

"Tatiana's coming back," Alec said, before grabbing Jace and disappearing behind a pillar.

Clary had lost any hope to find Jace in the room. There were too many blond men for her to find him and her feet had suffered a lot because of all the running. So she was sitting on a chair, her legs extended in front of her, twisting her fingers nervously. Her heart was beating wildly against her ribcage, threatening to just jump out of her chest any minute. She felt like crying again.

_Let it go, Clary. _

Jace's cold voice echoed in her head, again and again, like a song stuck on repeat. She needed to find her husband because she needed to know what was scaring him. Jace might have thought he was good at hiding things from her, but over the years Clary had learned to pick up on things he said, decipher the real message when he talked on the phone, read between the lines. He was scared and it made her wonder why. Was it because she was tiny and he thought a pregnancy would hurt her? Or because he was lying and he never planned on having kids at all?

Whatever the reason was, she needed to know.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't realized that someone was crouching in front of her, trying to get a hold of her gaze. She blinked and her heart dropped. How could she have ever confused Jace with the man from earlier? Jace's eyes were always gold, like melted amber, no matter how dark it was. She stayed silent for a few minutes, watching him, trying to see if he was still mad at her. Jace took her hands in his and helped her stand up.

"I'm so sorry, Clary," he whispered, his face only millimeters from hers. She didn't know what she could say so she kept staring into his eyes, chewing on her lip. "I'm sorry about earlier, about how huge of a jerk I was. If you want a baby, of course we can have one – or four or ten even – I'll give you everything you want. Forgive me."

Clary sighed and closed the space between them to kiss him. It felt right this time. It felt like _Jace_. His lips were soft and burning and full with all the longing and the apologies of their fight. She encircled his waist with her arms while he cupped her face with both hands. She smiled.

"I'm sorry, too," she said. "For getting mad so fast. And if you don't want a baby now, I can wait a little longer," she added. "But not too long, okay?"

Jace grinned and nodded. "I love you so much Clary."

"I love you too."

"Do you want to dance?"

"Yes," Clary smiled. He led her to the dance floor.

Thankfully, Clary remembered enough about the few dance classes she and Jace had taken so she didn't walk on his toes.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you were tonight?" he whispered in her ear, feeling the shiver running through her body. "Magnus really outdid himself."

"I kissed someone else," she blurted out. It seemed to be her thing now, blurting out bits of truth at random. Her cheeks suddenly burned with the weight of her confession. Clary was always so honest.

"What?" Jace's eyes went wide and he pulled her behind one of the pillars of the room.

"In my defense, I thought it was you. It was dark and everyone was masked. I–"

Jace burst out laughing. "It's not funny!" Clary cried.

"Actually it is," Jace said. Clary crossed her arms over her chest while his hands were flat against the marble stone on each side of her head.

"So?"

"So what?" Clary asked.

"How was it?"

The chances of that were almost impossible.

But _Jace_ wasn't a common name, and Jonathan was sure Clary had called him that when she had confused him with her husband. He thought that his now blond hair must have thrown her off, but that was only confirming what he had thought.

_Jace_.

Of all the people he hated – his father included – Jace was on the top of the list. He had taken Jonathan's place in his father's heart – or whatever was in its place – only to betray him, to stab him in the back. If he really was married to Clary then finding him would be much easier. And after Valentine was done with, Clary would be all his. _Killing two birds with one stone_.

He liked that idea. Everything seemed to slowly click in place like pieces of a puzzle. He smiled to himself. Valentine arrived a few minutes after that, a flute of champagne in his hand.

"Son, I saw–"

Jonathan interrupted him. "I found Jace."

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><p>This is getting so exciting!<p>

**Read and review!**

Tell me if you have ideas, I want to see what you're thinking should happen next!

See ya!

Lilly


	10. Playing with fire

Hey guys!

So i'm looking for a beta reader^^ And there are just so many people that I can't choose so I rather do this this way: if you're a beta reader and you're interested in lil' ol' me PM me because I'd probably love to work with you LOL especially since I'm not a native English speaker ^^

I also want to thank everyone that reviews or has added _Catching Fire_ to their Alerts/Favorites! I love you guys!

Anyway, back to the story!

Lilly

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: Playing with Fire will only get you Burn, Jace Herondale<strong>

Clary woke up with a ray of sun on her face, gently tickling her nose. The sheets were only partially covering her and the turned-on AC caused her to shiver. Her face was buried in Jace's chest, his arms encircling her waist. She stared at him for a while. How he looked so much younger and fragile when he was asleep, how all trace of arrogance was gone and she could almost see the little boy from Céline's family albums. A blond curl was falling in front of his eyes and she instinctively reached for it and pushed it aside. Jace groaned and tightened his grip on her. She frowned; she hadn't even touched his skin. He kept his eyes closed a little longer while she smiled and shook her head slightly.

"Morning," he whispered, leaning forward and finding her lips despite his closed eyes.

"Hey," she whispered back, running a hand up and down his chest, kissing him back.

He groaned against her lips, causing her smile to widen as she pressed herself against him, intertwining her legs with his. There was nothing better, she thought, than this short moment at the beginning of the day that belonged to them and only them. That in twenty, thirty years from now, she would wake up and see Jace's same beautiful face, the only face that ever mattered.

He gently pushed her shoulder, forcing her to lie on her back, her red hair scattered over the pillow in the messy curls of morning. He propped himself up on his elbows, looming over her and bent his head to lick her lips until she parted them. His kisses lowered to her bare throat, her bare collarbone, her bare chest and she moaned when he reached her belly button, her legs spread on each side of him. Clary never really understood how Jace jumped into focus like that, how one minute he was sleeping and the next they were minutes away from–

The loud ringtone of a cell phone tore through the air, and Clary sighed, covering her eyes with her hands with the strong desire to shout at the vibrating phone. Jace froze and closed his eyes, his forehead resting on Clary's stomach. She bit her lip as she watched him roll back to his side and grabbed his phone on his bedside table.

"What?" he demanded, harsh-voiced which deeply satisfied Clary.

She pulled the sheets over her and looked at the plain white ceiling. She had thought about painting it but had changed her mind at the last minute.

"Are you sure? That sounds –" He took a quick look over his shoulder and stood up (when had he put his boxers on Clary wondered). "– unlikely," he finished, leaving the room.

Clary sat up, her head resting against the bed headboard.

"Things were starting off so well," she muttered to herself, hearing the sound of Jace's footsteps on the stairs leading to the terrace. "Stupid phone. Stupid work."

And just as she pronounced the words, her phone rang.

"This better be good," she groaned.

"Hey, calm down Tiger." Magnus laughed on the other end.

"Sorry Mags," she apologized, recognizing her best friend's voice and fell back onto the soft pillow.

"It's okay. We can't all be as happy as I am when I wake up!"

Clary chuckled. "How do you do it?" she asked.

"Oh you know, with the sex dreams and everything it's –"

"Magnus!" Clary exclaimed, her free hand flying to her cheek.

"I'm just kidding," he replied. "Well, almost. _Anyway_, Izzy and I were wondering if you wanted to grab brunch?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to answer when Jace came back and shot her an apologetic look.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

He nodded before vanishing into the dressing room through the door on her left and came back a couple minutes later, fully dressed and ready to go. He bent down and kissed her and just as quickly he was gone.

"Clary?" Magnus called.

"Sarabeth?" Clary proposed, blinking hard.

"Of course, where else would we have brunch?" he demanded and she could almost hear him smile.

"I'll meet you guys in twenty minutes?"

"Sure. By the way did you know your parents are in town?" Magnus added.

"What?" Clary's mouth fell open. "Tabitha's birthday is tomorrow," she said out loud. "Crap! Thanks for reminding me."

"Don't panic, I told Izzy and she suggested we go shopping this afternoon," Magnus explained.

"You guys are the best, you know that?"

"Yes, we do." She heard Magnus laugh. "Speak of the devil. Izzy just texted me. She wants to know where we're going on vacation next month."

"Somewhere hot?" Clary suggested. Magnus didn't answer. "I know you're rolling your eyes, Mags." He laughed again. "Can we talk about it over brunch? My stomach is growling like crazy and you're asking too much of my slumbered brain."

"Sure. Just one last thing."

"I'm listening," Clary yawned, jumping out of bed, motivated by the prospect of shopping for her little sister and planning her family vacation which always turned out to be full of awesome adventures.

"What are you going to wear today?"

"Seriously?" Clary sighed. "Denim shorts?"

"How about you put on the dress in the box in front of your door?" Magnus suggested.

"Did I tell you how much I love you?" Clary asked, rushing to the door, only wearing her bed's sheets that she had quickly wrapped around herself in a pastel green hand-made toga.

"Every day, it's implied."

**xXx**

"What's going on?" Jace asked when he walked into the office numbered 2345 in the Alicante Tower.

Hodge Starkweather's head snapped up and he shook the hand Jace had handed him firmly. He was in charge of maintaining his and Alec's covert status and led a small team of operatives and techies to make sure their families stayed safe. One of Jace's mother's best friends was a CIA operative and she didn't know. Hodge had also been his trainer at the Farm, but that seemed to be a decade ago, which now that he thought about, it almost was.

"You know how we flagged every search that included the words '_Jace Herondale, New York'_?" Hodge asked, swallowing a sip of his black coffee. Jace nodded. "Well, we just had a hit."

"Where?" Jace asked. He wasn't entirely convinced that it had been necessary to trouble him for an internet search on him. Besides, chances were it was probably just Izzy fooling around and Googling the whole family just for fun. He rolled his eyes mentally. It seemed that lately his phone would keep ringing when he wished it really wouldn't. He wasn't ready to give up morning sex just now.

"Tribeca," Hodge answered, "That's where –"

"Yes," Jace said. He ran a weary hand through his hair, wishing he could just go back to sleep next to Clary and forget Valentine Morgenstern ever existed. But for his sake, and probably the country's sake, he had to see this through. Sometimes it really sucked to be him.

"The feed originated from an internet café," Hodge began, "of course, we weren't able to identify anyone we knew through the surveillance video. We're still running the recognition program in case we missed someone."

Jace's head was already racing.

_I just can't shake the feeling that Valentine is here for us_, Alec had said the day before.

_But that's impossible_, Jace thought. _He could search as long as he wants and he wouldn't find me. Not on the internet anyway._

"Don't worry, whoever it was had been fed the fake photo and a couple of information that had nothing to do with you," Hodge said, seeing the concern on Jace's face. "There was something else, though."

"What?" At that point, Jace braced himself for the pain in the ass.

"Along with your name, whoever made that search also searched the words '_Clarissa Herondale, artist'_ into the database," Hodge added.

Jace felt his heart drop in his chest. "What did they find?"

"Only that she was showing her paintings to the Golden Door Gallery until the end of next month," Hodge said. "There were a couple of pictures of her though, as soon as we saw it, we took them off the site."

"I've gotta go," Jace declared.

"Wait, Jace!" Hodge grabbed his arm before Jace reached the door. "There's no need to alarm everyone, or to act erratically. We're doing a background check on every single person that entered this internet café during the past two weeks. If there's anything to be found, we'll find it. You have my word."

"I need to know that she's okay," Jace whispered and took his phone out. "Damn signal," he cursed.

"I know, but if Valentine's watching her, you'll only make things worse," Hodge reasoned. "Or even blow your covert status and endanger everyone."

"So what? I'm supposed to stay away from my own wife?" Jace exclaimed.

"No, of course not," Hodge soothed. "I'm just asking you to be more careful. I'll send a team to watch over her."

"Jace!" Alec burst in the room. His hair, Jace noticed, was all wet and dripping on his worn-out shirt. "I heard."

"Please don't tell me _'I told you so'_", Jace said. "I'm not in the mood."

"I see that," Alec replied. "So what do you want to do?"

"Call Sebastian," Jace ordered.

"What do I tell him?"

"That there is a change of plans," Jace said.

"What kind of change?" Hodge dared ask.

"We can't find Valentine and the only one we know who knows about his whereabouts is –"

"Pangborn," Alec finished. "What do you want to do? Go and talk to him?"

"No, he wouldn't tell us anything if we did," Jace explained. "Much too powerful and arrogant for that."

"Then what?" Alec asked. He was starting to lose his patience.

"We're going to kidnap Tatiana."

**xXx**

Jonathan was standing in front of the Golden Door Gallery, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Under the light of day, it looked different as if he had been to another place altogether three nights ago when he had first met Clary. But the gold double doors were unmistakable. He was in the right place. People walking by them seemed to instinctively distance themselves as far as possible, as if Jonathan and Valentine spread fear through their simple presence. His lips curled into a smile. He took a step forward and, followed by his father, he entered the gallery.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Valentine asked.

"Yes, Father, I'm _sure_," Jonathan answered through gritted teeth.

"If you're right, son," he began, "this means Emil's list is useless, therefore so is he."

"I never liked him anyway," Jonathan shrugged. "Don't we need him though? For the information you were talking to me about?" _About my mother_, he thought but he couldn't say the words. They carried too much loathing to be pronounced aloud.

"Oh, yes of course," Valentine agreed. "We still need to take care of that. But one thing at a time."

The gallery was almost empty of people. The light was pouring through the high-ceiling room from the tall windows and there were no lamps inside. In the middle of the day, he noticed the small flaws of the room he hadn't noticed before because of the darkness, the dust, the cracks in the walls and the slightly crooked painting that no one had bothered straightening.

A young Indian woman scribbling at her desk looked up, greeted them and went back to work. She was sort of beautiful, with her coffee-color skin, long dark brown silky hair fastened in a high bun and clear blue eyes. She was wearing a simple and elegant black dress and ballerina flats.

_Nothing like Clary though_, Jonathan thought, _too exotic for my taste. But probably dad's_.

"Hi," Jonathan began, working a convincing warm smile on his lips. He bent closer to her. "We're looking for a way to contact Clarissa Herondale?"

Valentine smiled.

"She's not here today," the woman answered. "But I think Laurel is."

"Her agent?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes."

"Could you get her for me, please?"

"Sure," the woman smiled, winking at him. "Laurel? There're people here to see you about Clary!"

Another woman appeared through the frame of a door, typing on her phone. She looked nothing like the desk girl. She was wearing a cream suit with stilettos, her blond hair falling over her shoulder. "Clary won't be here for a while, she's working from home. But if you leave your number to Nasreen, I'll call you next time she exhibits a new series."

"I thought maybe you could give me Clarissa's number," Jonathan explained. "We've already met but although I gave her mine number she forgot to give me hers."

"I'm sorry, but I can't give her personal information out to strangers," Laurel answered. "No offense."

"It's really important that we talk to her," Valentine interjected.

"I'm really sorry, but I can't," Laurel repeated. "If you give me your name I can tell Clary you've come to see her. She'll probably call you back."

"I'm afraid that is not an option," Valentine said softly, shaking his head. "What a shame, I'm sure you had a bright future."

Jonathan had already moved to the door and locked it, slowly turning to Nasreen. The woman paled, staggering up and backed down until her hands touched the wall behind her.

Laurel screeched in agony as Valentine plunged a knife into her chest. As a reflex, he put a large hand on her mouth to muffle the sound of her scream. Blood flooded from Laurel's mouth and wounds, splattering on Valentine's hand and expensive-looking suit. He gently accompanied her as her legs gave out and she sank to the ground.

Nasreen watched helplessly, paralyzed with fear. She couldn't breathe, couldn't talk, couldn't move or run away. She stood petrified as Jonathan sauntered toward her, the gleaming silver blade of a knife shining in his right hand. His dark irises seemed to have melted into his pupils as he stared at her with a cruel glare, his mouth twisting in the most horrible smile Nasreen had ever seen. She gasped and her legs responded when the panic and her survival instinct took over the fear. But she wasn't fast enough and with a swift twitch of his blade, Jonathan slit her throat as if he was slicing a pie.

Nasreen stumbled a few feet before she fell too, her head hitting the floor in a sickening sound of a skull cracking open on concrete. Jonathan stepped over her, joining his father.

"I think they have a studio in the back," he said. "You should find something to wear there."

Valentine nodded and handed Laurel's phone to his son. "Find her," he ordered him before disappearing in the studio in the far end corner of the gallery.

Jonathan scrolled down a surprisingly long list of contact names before stopping on Clary's.

"Gotcha."

* * *

><p>Hihihi<p>

I spent so much fun writing this chapter I really hope you liked it!

As usual R&R,

See ya!

Lilly


	11. The first blush of love

Hey!

It felt like it was only yesterday that I posted the Prologue of _Catching Fire_ and we're already at the tenth chapter^^ I'm so happy that you guys like it.

So continue reviewing and I'll continue posting^^

Lilly

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: The First Blush of Love<strong>

Clary unlocked the front door of her penthouse and came in, half-dancing and singing in the hallway. She set down her shopping bags in the bedroom before sliding into the kitchen on the freshly-waxed wooden floor. She gasped and almost lost balance when she saw Jace sitting at the table.

"God Jace, you scared the hell out of me!" she exclaimed but her smile was sweet.

He stood up, his face grave. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" He shouted, closing the space between them in two wide steps. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently back and forth.

"Stop! Jace!" Clary felt dizzy and her eyes couldn't focus on anything. But it seemed like he didn't even hear her.

"I've been calling all day, can't you just pick up THE DAMN PHONE?" he continued.

"Well at least, no–now you kn–know how it fe–feels," Clary said, squinting to regain her balance when Jace finally stopped shaking her.

But he didn't let her go. He kept holding her face in his hands and when Clary tilted her chin up, she saw that he had truly been scared for her. What did he believe could have happened to her? She wondered. She had just spent the afternoon with their best friends.

Jace's eyes were darker than usual, and he seemed to have aged ten years compared to his sleeping, child-like face. She chewed on her lips, feeling the weight of guilt, heavy in heart. It surprised her because this situation hadn't happened in a while. She remembered a time – shortly after they got married – when Jace would often freak out without warning. At first she had told herself, '_Great, he's the jealous type_!', but when she had looked at him as she was looking at him right now, she had seen that it wasn't jealousy at all. She felt her cheeks flush and put her hands on Jace's hips.

"I'm sorry," she said. She couldn't bear to see the pain and fear on Jace's angel-like face. "I forgot my cell here." Her voice was only a murmur.

"Please don't ever do that again," Jace begged. Clary felt a lump in her throat; Jace never begged. Ever. "Promise me."

"I promise," she croaked.

Jace's lips parted into a smile. He tried to kiss her forehead, but she pushed herself on the tip of her toes and kissed his lips. She wrapped her hands around his neck and hauled herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. His smile made her feel better.

"We're feeling a little clingy today, aren't we?" Jace laughed. Clary shrugged.

"For once we're in the right place if we want to finish what we started this morning," she said matter-of-factly, but her heart was racing, pounding so loudly that she knew he could feel it too.

He set her on the counter and kissed her hungrily. She was about to lift his shirt when he grabbed her wrists. Her head snapped up. "What is it?"

"You don't remember?" Jace asked.

"Remember what?" Clary rolled her eyes. "If this is pay back for forgetting my phone I– "

"No, it's not," Jace assured her, running a burning hand up her bare thigh, causing her to sigh and bite her lip. "But I thought we were supposed to have dinner at your new friend's house tonight? We wouldn't want to be late would we?"

"Maia and Jordan!" Clary exclaimed. "Crap!"

Maia had tried to picture what Clary's husband might look like all day. She had had a lot time to think about it, while she cooked, set the table, and shopped. And the only think she could come up with was a brown-haired computer genius with glasses and nerdy T-shirts.

She couldn't have been more far off. Jace Herondale was no nerd. He looked like the type of guy she would never have dated. The kind that was way too beautiful for other's and his own good. And those perfect blond curls and deep amber eyes? Too Barbie's Ken for her. She stared at Clary, standing in the doorframe, the brightest of smiles on her freckled face and couldn't help but smile back. How could she radiate so much happiness?

"Hey! Come in," Maia hurried them inside.

"Thank you," Jace smiled and Maia rolled her eyes mentally. _Angelic beauty and a sexy mellowing voice. _"I'm Jace, Clary's husband."

"Maia," she introduced herself, gratefully accepting the magnificent flower bouquet he offered her.

They made such an odd pair; Clary small and fiery, Jace broad-shouldered and golden. But she spotted a look in Jace's eyes when he made way for Clary to enter before him that put all her worries at rest: it was the look of pure and utter devotion.

She heard Jordan race down the stairs before joining them in the living room. His eyes went wide, and for a minute Maia thought he was seeing the same thing she had, but so did Jace's.

"Do you know each other?" Maia asked.

"Yeah, we _work_ together," Jace answered, composure back on his face. He shook Jordan's hand firmly, who still looked startled.

"No way!" Clary exclaimed. "You work for Alicante too?"

Jordan slowly nodded. She exchanged a look of complicity with Maia.

"What are the chances right?" She grinned.

They all settled in the living room, Clary and Jace on the big new fuchsia couch holding hands whereas she and Jordan took the matching armchairs across the coffee table. Maia set down colorful drinks on coaster in front of them.

"So, I'm dying to ask," she said, "how did you two meet?"

"A friend introduced us," Jace began, intertwining his fingers with Clary's.

"Yeah, I had just arrived in New York and like every college graduate, I aspired to become a famous artist. I had already found a part-time job so I started looking for somewhere to live. Magnus was the first I met about sharing an apartment and we bonded instantly. He was completely insane but really sweet and above all – and you have no idea how many times I had to stress it to my mom and dad – irrevocably gay. We lived in Brooklyn and he showed me New York like I would never have imagined it. Anyway, one night he decided to introduce me to his friends but I really wasn't up to it."

"Probably because you just got fired," Jace said.

"Definitely because I just got fired," Clary agreed. "But Mags dragged me anyway. Do you know Pandemonium?"

"Yeah, the club down in Chelsea," Jordan said, meeting Jace's eyes. Maia frowned but shook her head and concentrated on Clary's story.

"That's where he dragged me. Obviously we arrived before everybody." She dug an elbow in Jace's ribs. He winced.

"Hey! I was working!"

"Anyway! There I was, bored nearly to death, by myself at the bar drinking my sixteenth cosmopolitan when Jace appeared." Clary smiled a sweet loving smile, she turned to him. "You said hello and, because I thought you weren't speaking to me, I looked behind for the six-foot tall winner of America's Top Model to answer you."

"And you fell from the stool," Jace finished.

Clary blushed. "And you caught me as if you spent your evenings catching girls who fainted or fell at the sight of you."

"That's so sweet!" Maia exclaimed.

"Not really," Clary said. "I was horrible to him after that."

"You were _feisty_," Jace corrected. "And I loved it. You thought I was so cocky that at the end of the night you told me you never wanted to see me again."

"And we had dinner the day after."

"And all the other days of the week," Jace added and leaned in to kiss her.

_They're perfect together,_ Maia thought and looked at Jordan who grinned.

Sebastian's heart was pounding loudly in his chest. What they were asking him to do was insane. He didn't know if he were even capable of it: of knocking Tatiana out and taking her to the Agency's basement and locking her up until they got what they needed.

He looked at the night through the window and sighed. It was his first mission. If he ever wanted to become a field operative, _this_ was his chance. Moreover he had sworn an oath to protect his country from any threat domestic and foreign, and he was pretty sure that Valentine Morgenstern was a threat all right. And there were also actual lives at stake here. Jace's wife Clary for starters, Magnus Bane, their families.

Would he be able to look at Jace and Alec in the eye – would he be able to look at himself in the eye – if he caused their deaths?

Tatiana was sound asleep next to him, her face buried in a pillow and an arm thrown around his waist. Could he trust her? Could he trust himself? It was a game he was playing. A game with no rules and most of all, no feelings. Then why did he feel so much resentment at the idea of hurting Tatiana, of betraying her trust. But if it wasn't for work, why was he sleeping with her at all? Did he like her?

"I'm going crazy," he whispered to himself. "I need some air."

Carefully, he slipped out of bed and tip-toed to the balcony through the living room. The fresh breeze was invigorating and helped him clear his mind. It was a job and he had a mission to accomplish. He wanted this job, this life, he would just have to get used to the deception.

Sebastian walked back in with a newly found motivation. He got his coat and grabbed the two pink pills and walked into the kitchen where he put them in a glass of water. He watched them dissolve absent-mindedly but when the light switched on he grabbed the glass, covering it with the palm of his hand.

"Hey," Tatiana winked. "What are you doing out of bed?" she asked.

He raised the glass. "I was thirsty," he said and smiled. "Want a sip?" He glanced down, the water was clean as if nothing had ever been in there.

_Want a sip?_ He repeated to himself. _What kind of douchebag says that? _

"I would prefer a glass of you," she replied, lightly jumping on the counter. She took the glass from Sebastian's hands and gulped the water down.

Tatiana grabbed his pajama pants and pulled him against her. She kissed him hungrily, her hand sliding into his pants and he couldn't help but moan. For a half second, Sebastian wondered if Tatiana wasn't a nymphomaniac of some sort. He spread her legs, easily tearing off the soft fabric of her underwear, his mouth already crushed on hers.

"Declan," she moaned softly, closing her eyes.

"Shit," Sebastian cursed as Tatiana fell forward. He sighed and carried her to her bed before heading to the bathroom.

When his cellphone rang, he was going through Tatiana's computer. He had taken a shower and put his clothes back on and had also put some on Tatiana.

"Aline?" he asked after glancing at the caller ID.

"Yep," the girl's voice answered.

"Working late huh?"

"I don't have anything better to do anyway," she said, and he imagined her shrugging as she did. He would have found it weird that Aline didn't have a boyfriend but he guessed that her massive crush on Jace prevented her from that. "I'm calling to know if your package is ready."

"It is," Sebastian muttered through clenched teeth.

"Should I send the extraction team in then?" Aline asked.

"Sure, knock yourself out."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she offered.

"About what?"

"Tatiana, of course," Aline replied. "You don't like how Jace and Alec are handling this whole thing, do you?"

"No, I _really_ don't," Sebastian agreed. "But that's not my call, it's theirs."

"You know they will never hurt her, right?" Aline said. "Jace actually booked her a room at the Carlyle hotel. I think she could have done worse. Way worse. I almost wished I was her."

"This is not the point," he retorted.

"You have to look at the big picture here." He didn't answer, and a minute passed in silence before Aline spoke again. "Listen, with our line of work, there are going to be days when we'd rather have been teachers or movie stars and that we'll hate this job. But there will be other days, when you'll get to save a little boy's life or an entire city, when you realize that this is what you want to do, that the good days are worth the bad ones."

Sebastian felt his heart skip a beat. "You are awesome, Aline, do you know that?"

"I'm trying my best," she chuckled. "Is it working? Do you feel better?"

"Much."

"I'll tell you what," she began, "come home safely and I'll buy you dinner."

"Hello?" Clary's voice sounded like a whisper in Jonathan's ear. "Who is this?"

Jonathan was lying on his bed with his legs outstretched in front of him. His eyes were closed as he conjured up a picture of her in his mind.

"Clarissa?" he asked, faking surprise. "Hi, it's Jonathan Morgenstern, we met at the Golden Door– "

"The Shakespeare lover!" she exclaimed and gasped. "Are you calling about the painting?"

"Yes," he lied. She gasped again, but this time it sounded more like she was moaning.

"Jace stopped it, please," he heard her say. Her voice was even lower, as if she had put a hand on her phone. "Can't you see I'm talking?"

"You're the one who wanted to finish what we started. I'm just doing what I was told."

Jonathan's free hand tightened into a fist. The voice was unmistakable; he would recognize it anywhere, no matter how muffled or altered it was. Now he was sure. He groaned; next to his conjured-up image of Clary, there was Jace, smiling at her with that stupid arrogant grin that made Jonathan want to bash his head in. He tried to push it away.

"Jace, not my– " She gasped again. When she spoke again, the volume of her voice was back to normal. "Sorry," she apologized.

"It's okay," Jonathan said, but of course it wasn't. Rage and jealousy had risen up in his throat like bile.

"I was about to call you about the painting," she continued. "I finished it this morning."

"Really? That's great," Jonathan said. "I was calling to tell you I was staying longer."

"Cool," Clary said in a high-pitched voice.

"Is this a bad time? I can call later if you'd like?" Jonathan suggested.

"Are you free tomorrow night?" Clary asked. "It's my little sister's birthday and we're doing this ridiculously big party. You could drop by – if you want to, of course. Otherwise I won't be free until the day after."

"Tomorrow sounds good for me," Jonathan assured her.

"Great! I'll text you the address. See you tomorrow."

"I can't wait."

* * *

><p>So it was a bit harder to write this one than the others so tell me honestly what you think^^<p>

Review!

Lilly.


	12. The imaginarium of Magnus Bane

Hey !

To all you Disney lovers, this chapter's for you. And I love you reviews guys, you make me smile and blush^^ There's no better motivation than that!

Love,

Lilly

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: The Imaginarium of Magnus Bane <strong>

Clary thought it was a wonderful idea to celebrate Tabitha's birthday outside. However her '_outside'_ was obviously different from Magnus' '_outside'_. Clary's outside was a nice dinner in Central Park, next to the Alice in Wonderland statue that her little sister loved so much, with music and friends and a big cake. But Jocelyn had put Magnus in charge of Tabitha's party.

Clary and Isabelle had arrived early at the address Magnus had texted them in order to help their best friend set up, but it seemed that Magnus didn't need any help at all.

They were standing on the roof of an Upper West Side building with a breathtaking view of Central Park. But the view was the last things on their minds.

The terrace was huge and completely covered with spring-green grass. In the far middle, against the low stone wall – which had been hidden under small young trees – stood a thatched cottage with bright blue walls. There were no doors, only a large wooden door frame and looked empty inside. Around the house laid flowerbeds of purple roses, blue tulips, pink daisies, and green daffodils. Picnic tables and benches were arranged on the left and on the right. Randomly positioned around the terrace stood plastic animals: baby deer next to trees, blue birds on the cottage's window sills, and rabbits on the benches.

Clary gasped and she heard Isabelle sigh as she had to take her stilettos off. Feeling supportive, Clary took her All Stars off as well. Together, they took a step forward and moaned. The grass was cool and smooth.

"Welcome to Snow White's meadow," Magnus sang as soon as he spotted them.

"Are you crazy?" Clary asked.

"It's beautiful, Mags," Isabelle cheered.

"Well, of course it is," Clary agreed, feeling herself blush under the eyes of Magnus. "But this is madness."

"Tabitha is going to love it!" Isabelle exclaimed.

"How did you even –"

"I've been on it for over a month," Magnus explained. "Your mother helped me a lot. And so did you."

"I did?" Clary asked.

"Of course! You're the one who told me that Snow White was her favorite Disney princess. Which is perfect since I've designed special outfits for you guys, which in turn inspired me for the next collection of WolfsBane."

"Should we be scared?" Isabelle asked. Magnus made a face. "Sorry."

"I took all Disney princesses and modernized them. Izzy, tonight you'll be Sleeping Beauty, Clary –"

"Rapunzel," they said together. Magnus laughed. "Jocelyn will be Jasmine and, finally, Tabitha will be Snow White."

"Do we really have to put costumes on?" Isabelle asked.

"That's the best part: they're not costumes." He grabbed his sketchpad and laid it on one of the tables. "There, you see?"

"Oh my God," Clary and Isabelle whispered together.

"I know," Magnus grinned.

"Please tell me that you've prepared the same for the boys?" Isabelle asked.

For a minute, Clary tried picture Jace as Flynn Rider and she burst out laughing. No, Jace would be better as Prince Charming or John Smith from Pocahontas, she thought. She made a mental list. Jace would be John Smith, Alec would be Eric from the _Little Mermaid_ and Simon would definitely be Milo Thatch from _Atlantis_.

"Unfortunately, no," Magnus said. "I didn't have time. But I got the seven dwarves, they'll be here tonight. But, given Tab's size, I think we should name the scrapbook album _Snow White and the Seven Giants_, what do you think?"

Clary smiled, distancing herself from Izzy and Magnus who were starting to argue. The place was really beautiful and she almost believed she was in Snow White's world. She couldn't wait for tonight and to see her family.

Since she had moved to New York, they didn't spend as much time together and Clary missed that. She missed having Tab around, running after her, begging her to paint her something with those huge green puppy-dog eyes of hers. She missed waking up to the smell of Luke's coffee and seeing his mouth perked up in the most gentle of smiles when he saw her messy red-haired face in the morning. She missed Jocelyn's protectiveness and her unlimited creativity, and how, out of the blue, she would sneak up to her and hug her tight against her chest.

"Clary!" Magnus called.

"Sorry, what?" She shook her head and saw Magnus and Isabelle watching her. She had walked inside the cottage without realizing it and they were standing in the doorway.

"I said: that's where the chocolate fountain is going to be," Magnus said and she saw sparkles in both his and Isabelle's eyes.

"Oh my god," Clary sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. Those two were worse than children.

"Tonight's gonna be EPIC!" they screamed together.

**xXx**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Alec asked.

"For the last time Alec, I'm sure," Jace repeated. "This is our last chance."

"Emil will see you now," Malachi said, opening the massive door.

Jace obviously noticed the gun inside his jacket, this one was for show, he thought, so that everyone who would see it would think twice about trying to double cross him. What Malachi probably didn't know is that Jace also noticed the gun hidden in his right boot tied around his ankle. If needed, that's the one he would need to get his hands on.

Emil Pangborn's desk looked exactly as he would expect it to look: expensive desk and furniture, leather desk chair, priceless - and undoubtedly stolen - art hanging on the walls, family portraits on the desk facing them and of course six bodyguards standing straight around the room, their arms crossed behind their backs.

"Jace Wayland!" Emil greeted him, pushing back his chair to stand up. "And Alec Carstairs. What a pleasure to finally meet you."

They shook hands and Jace caught Alec's confused eyes, but it vanished immediately.

"What can I do for you gentlemen?" Emil asked, lighting up a cigar.

"I think you know exactly why we're here," Jace grinned. It had always amazed Alec how good he was at playing the part, at being charming and pleasant and respectful, when Alec knew all he wanted was to cut Emil's fingers one by one with the man's cigar-cutter on the desk until he talked. "We were just in the neighborhood thinking you might know where Valentine was, since you two are so close." He leaned back into the chair.

"Want a drink?" Emil offered.

"Don't mind if I do." Jace smiled as Emil poured the brown liquid into two glasses. Jace took one of them.

"You know, it's been a long time since I've received a visit from the Agency," Emil began. "It hadn't gone as they had planned, unfortunately for them."

Malachi chuckled softly as if it was a joke.

"I bet it has, but I'm not like the rest of them."

"I know," Emil said. "You and Alec are the best, I'm told. Should I be afraid?"

"I think you know better than that," Jace smirked.

"Just tell us where Valentine is and we'll leave," Alec declared.

"No hard feelings," Jace added.

Emil's smile widened. "And if I don't?"

Jace reached into his jacket pocket. Suddenly six guns were pointed at him. He smiled, slowly taking a phone out.

"Put away your toys, boys," Emil ordered. "Jace and Alec aren't suicidal, are you?" he asked them.

"Certainly not," Jace agreed.

"So what is it you want to show me? Or you know what? Don't bother, I don't think there's anything that would make me rat to the feds," Emil spat. "Please leave. You're wasting my time and, believe it or not, it's precious."

"Oh, we will," Jace assured him. "In just a minute."

Alec tensed next to him.

"You see, we knew you would say that," Jace smiled. "And you're right, it would be pretty stupid of us to try to force you _physically_. So we did something else."

"And what is that?" Emil asked, a mocking smile on his lips.

"Look," Jace said and he pressed a button on his phone that played the video of Tatiana being taken away by the extraction team. Emil's knuckled whitened. "Still think we're wasting your precious time?"

"What do you want?" Emil asked. His face was getting redder by the second.

"_Valentine Morgenstern_," Alec said, slowly pronouncing each syllable.

"And Jonathan, if you have him too," Jace added. "Here's how it's going to go: you're going to call Valentine once we leave and tell him you want to meet him at Pandemonium tomorrow night."

"And what would be my excuse?" Emil asked, faking a smile. "You know better than I do, he gets very suspicious."

"Don't play dumb with me," Jace said. "We know he wants something from you. I don't care if you have it or not, but you're gonna tell him you do. I'm sure he'll be pleased. Make sure he's here at nine. You don't even have to show up."

"We'll take care of the rest," Alec finished.

"And Tatiana?"

"We'll let her go as soon as Valentine and Jonathan are in custody," Alec assured him.

"And you promise nothing will happen to her?" Emil asked. His voice shook and for a split second Jace saw that the love for your child was unconditional, that you'd do everything.

"Of course," Jace said and something in his voice convinced Emil.

"I'll do it."

Jace handed him the phone. "There's only one number in it and it's mine. Call me after you reach Valentine."

**xXx**

"So it was just all pretending?" Tatiana asked. "You never really liked me?"

Sebastian was sitting on the window seat, as far away from the bed as he could. The Carlyle's suite was beautiful but he couldn't enjoy it. He was looking through the window, turning his phone over and over in his hands, waiting for Jace's call, waiting to free Tatiana and never hear from her again.

"I did," he whispered. "But it doesn't matter."

"It's about my dad isn't it?" she guessed. "What do you want? Money? Is that why you slept with me over and over again?"

_You didn't seem to mind_, Sebastian thought.

Aline barged into the room and Sebastian found himself jumping up and hugging her. She frowned but didn't push him away. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm really glad you're here," he explained and let her go. "You have no idea how I need the friendly face right now."

"Are you sleeping with her too?" Tatiana spat.

Aline ignored her. "Jace called."

"And?"

"He and Alec went to see Pangborn."

"Did he take the bait?" Sebastian asked.

"Let me finish," Aline ordered. "If everything goes according to plan, Valentine will be in the Agency's custody tomorrow night. Then you'll let her go."

"Okay," Sebastian said reluctantly. The idea of spending a night in the room with Tatiana wasn't very appealing.

"Do you want me to stay?" Aline suggested. "Sebastian!" She shook him slightly and his eyes snapped back into focus.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"Sebastian?" Tatiana repeated. "Your name isn't Declan? What didn't you lie about?"

"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Aline shouted at her.

Tatiana bit down her lips hard and kicked angrily in the air.

Sebastian looked at Aline as if he saw her for the first time. "Come," she ordered him and opened the window to the balcony.

"Thank you," Sebastian said.

"She's really going crazy in there," Aline laughed.

"Wouldn't you?" he snapped. "If you were betrayed and then tied up to a stupid bed?"

"I guess." Aline shrugged.

"I'm sorry – I – I feel like crap."

"No kidding!" Aline mocked.

"Dinner was nice, though," Sebastian said, lost in thought. "Yesterday, I mean."

"I know. I thought it was nice too."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, if it'll take your mind off things, go ahead." Aline smiled.

"Why Jace?"

Aline's face darkened. She looked away, blushing deeply.

From this height, New York's traffic was just a hum in the background. Sebastian could hear his breathing, his crazy heart beating and Aline short breaths. He could even hear Tatiana's screams. He put a hand on her shoulder with the conviction that she would shake it off and yell at him. But she rested her hand on his.

"I don't – he's everything I want. He's smart, funny, beautiful –"

"Arrogant, crazy," Sebastian interrupted.

"Nobody's perfect."

"You know Clary, don't you?" he asked. "You saw how he is when she's around, as if she was the center of his world or something."

"That's what I want," Aline said, spinning around to face him. "I want someone whose face will light up when I come into the room, someone who'd do anything for me."

"You know what I think?" Aline rolled her eyes. "I think that if you would let someone in, that someone might actually like you."

"If you knew me at all, you'd see that I'm a very difficult girl to put up with," Aline sighed.

"The least you could do is let me try."

**xXx**

There were so many of them, so many bright colors and intriguing shapes that Tabitha did not know where to start. Her chubby cheeks had turned red with delight, making the freckles on her face pop on like tiny light bulbs. She wanted to try them all at the same time, to taste that explosion of sweetness and tickling in her mouth and to feel the anticipated melting and fizzling on her tongue. Tabitha did not know the whole world – she was way too young for that, after all – but she was positively certain that there was nothing like candy. It was humanity's best creation, its greater achievement. Her trembling hands were touching frenetically the thick plastic glass that was keeping her away from this treasure she was kneeling before. She could still hear, not for real of course, but in her mind, the mellowing voice of Magnus inviting her to anything she would like, along with a passionate yet fake gospel choir she was imagining thanking him for existing and putting a dazzling halo above his head. All of her efforts were directed in keeping her eyes from blinking because, she was sure that if she did, she would undoubtedly wake up in her bed, her stomach empty and rumbling for breakfast. It felt too real to be real, but it was. Tonight was her birthday and anything was possible.

Anything.

* * *

><p><em>So a few things here quickly. <em>

Magnus' new collection was inspired by the drawings _Fashion princesses_ by viria13 on deviantart so I encourage you to check it out if you want an idea of what everyone is going to wear.

I'll post the next chapter also today! Yay

Review!

Lilly


	13. Catching Fire

A promise made is a promise kept, so here it is, chapter 12!

I don't own the Mortal Instruments Series and characters they belong to Cassandra Clare. I'll just say it one last time because it applies to every chapter and I don't see the point in repeating it over and over.

Tabitha (and the story) is mine however. ^^I thought I haven't said it in a while so now I have.

And sorry for the late update but my health kind of turned its back on me during the afternoon, leaving me with stomach cramps and worse, so this will be a little shorter than usual but as complete don't worry.

Let's get to the story, shall we?

Love, Lilly

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: Catching Fire <strong>

"Are you ready?" Clary asked, her hands covering Tabitha's eyes. The little girl was jumping up and down.

"Yes yes yes! Please Clary! Let me see let me see!"

"Okay baby," Clary accepted and slowly lowered her hands. Tabitha's eyes widened with surprise.

Everyone she had ever known was standing in front of her, holding a scented candle. Her entire family –Jocelyn, Luke, Jace, Alec, Magnus, Izzy and Simon even her aunt Amatis had made the trip from France– her friends from school and their parents.

"Happy birthday!" They all screamed together.

She screamed and jumped in her father's arm with the most beautiful ear-to-ear smile Clary had ever seen. Luke caught her and kissed her cheek. The guests applauded and watched as Tabitha was discovering Magnus' decoration. As promised, the seven dwarves were there, waiting for her in the cottage, resting on their pickaxe next to the chocolate fountain.

Clary saw her vanish inside and adults started to split into groups. She felt Jace's arms slid around her waist and kissed her cheek. She rested her head on his shoulder, looking up at the starry moonless sky. The terrace had been beautiful during the day, embellishing with each visit from the florist, the caterer, and the landscape artist. But it was even comparable to the beauty the night brought to it. There were candles, small twinkling tinsels tangled in the tree's branches on the tree sides. The laugh of children made it more real. Jocelyn was beautiful. Her dark red hair fell on her shoulders, her bright eyes reflecting the lights around. Her Jasmine outfit suited her perfectly.

"I change my mind," Jace said.

Clary frowned. "About what?" He looked painfully beautiful in the dim light and his golden eyes shone on their own and not for the first time she wondered what he saw when he looked at her.

"About kids," he said. "We don't have to wait, if you want them now, I'm in." Clary turned around, her lips parted in astonishment.

"You're not messing with me, are you?" Clary asked.

"Of course not," Jace said. "That would be cruel."

"Yay!" She squealed and jumped in his arms. They kissed for what seemed a long moment before Jocelyn and Luke came up to them.

"What got you two so happy?" Luke asked.

Clary looked up at Jace who nodded, taking her hand in his. "We've decided to have a baby."

"I'm going to be a grandmother!" Jocelyn exclaimed in disbelief and hugged Clary tight against.

Luke patted Jace's shoulder, a wide smile plastered on his face. "Congratulations son."

"Thank you Luke."

Luke hugged his daughter.

"What's going on here?" Isabelle asked, casting a suspicious look on the small group. Simon rolled his eyes and greeted everyone.

Magnus and Alec followed and Jace shook his head at Magnus' outfit. He looked at Alec and frowned.

"You have a little bit of glitter here." He touched his cheek and Alec automatically rubbed it quickly with the hem of his dark shirt.

Magnus and Simon burst out laughing.

"Why is no one answering me?" Isabelle whined, throwing her hands in the air dramatically

**xXx**

Jonathan followed the address on Clary's text all the way to the Upper West Side on the roof of a building. It was crowded with people chatting and people running and he wished he had never come. But his father was on his way to meet and he

He spotted Jace sitting at one of the picnic tables with Clary and Alec. He didn't the other people nor did he care. As if feeling that he was watched, Jace turned his head. When their eyes met Jonathan could sense the shift in the air. His whole face darkened while Jonathan grinned. He had waited for this moment for so long. Clary frowned at Jace and followed his gaze. She smiled at Jonathan and waved. Jace looked at her as if she were insane, shock painted all over him. She stood up and walked to him, Jace on her heels.

"Jonathan you made it!" she exclaimed. "I wasn't sure."

Jonathan smiled. "This is my husband Jace," she added.

"What are you doing here Morgenstern?" Jace spat and Clary's eyes widened.

"Did I miss something?"

"Your wife invited me Wayland– oh sorry I forgot this isn't your name, is it _Herondale_?" Jonathan answered. It was satisfying to see confusion as he looked back and forth from him to Clary.

"Not his name, what are you talking about Jonathan?" Clary asked.

"Why don't you ask Jace?"

"Do you know each other?" Clary asked, tugging on Jace's sleeve trying to get his attention.

"Jace and I go a way back," Jonathan said. "Don't we Jace?"

"How do you know that guy Clary?" Jace demanded, his voice cold and hard.

"We met at the gallery, he left before you arrived," Clary muttered. "What's going on?"

"Could you please leave us for a minute honey?" Jace asked. "It won't be long."

"No, he's my friend too!" Clary exclaimed, and Jace shot her a murderous glare.

"Friend?" he repeated through clenched teeth. "He's not your friend. Neither is he mine."

"But he is," Clary insisted.

"Thanks Clary," Jonathan said and as he extended a hand to put on Clary's shoulder, Jace caught him. Jonathan winced slightly. He had forgotten how fast and strong Jace could be.

"Jace stop," Clary ordered.

He didn't move. "Jace!"

Jonathan laughed. "Finding you was a lot easier than I thought," he said. "And he was all thanks to chance."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Clary exclaimed.

"I thought the Agency cared about you enough to protect you," Jonathan continued, "But apparently I was wrong."

"What Agency? Somebody answer me!"

"She doesn't know, does she?" Jonathan smiled and for the first time Clary stepped back. A chill ran down her spine.

"You like to keep secrets it seems. That's good because so does she."

Jace, who had kept his grip on Jonathan's arm laughed. "Do you really believe I could turn on my own wife? You're an even bigger moron that I thought."

Jonathan yanked his arm free. "Did you notice how she clutches your hair when she kisses you? How even after she her lips aren't yours anymore you can still feel they are?"

Clary gasped. "That was you? At the masquerade ball! Oh my god!"

Jace's hand was already in a fist, in face calm but his eyes full of rage.

"Jonathan." His father voice stopped.

"Valentine," Jace said, his hand dropping to his sides.

"Hello Jace."

**xXx**

Jace watched with a well concealed horror as Valentine laughed. Alec was by his side in a flash and they had stepped before Clary, shielding her.

"That's what you want Jonathan?" Valentine asked. "The short one? Your taste in women have considerably changed Jonathan. She looked like a teenager."

"Touch her and I'll kill you right here, I don't care who watches," Jace said.

"I would believe that if I were you," Alec said. "He doesn't take threats on Clary lightly."

"She'll be much better with me," Jonathan said with a cruel smile, "I can ass–"

The first bullet hit the wall just behind Valentine, and a blast of gun fire followed, tiny sparks of light exploding everywhere. Jace ducked, taking Clary down with him. He crawled and almost dragged her near the bark of a tree. After he joined Alec and came back with Magnus, Izzy, and Simon.

"My parents!" Clary gasped and tried to stand up but Simon pinned her down.

"I'll get them," Jace told her and Clary's eyes widened as he took a gun from his pants. "Don't move!" he ordered her, but she was too confused and scared to do anything but nod.

The grass was tainted with blood now, and the screams only intensified as people tried to escape all at the same time through the door that would lead them one story below, to safety.

"Do you think it's Valentine?" Alec asked grabbing a shuddering Tabitha who had the reflex to hide in the cottage behind a wall.

"No he doesn't have that kind of man power," Jace answered. He was about to call Luke when he saw a silhouette creep up from behind him. Time seemed to slow down as he lifted his gun, aimed and shot. The man fell next to Luke who nodded in thanks. He took Jocelyn and ducking between the trees manages to reach the door. He reappeared seconds later, but Alec was already at the door, giving him Tabitha.

"Are you parents ok?" Jace cried above the noise.

Alec nodded and Jace signaled him that they had to go back to Clary and their friends. Jace caught a sight of a familiar face before he reached Clary. She had a back against the wall and her knees against her chest, rocking back and forth, her hands covering her ears.

"It's Pangborn!" Jace shouted to Alec. "We need to get them to the safe house."

Alec nodded.

"Clary," Jace whispered, putting his hands on hers and lowering them. "Your parents and Tab are safe." She nodded slightly. "Can you walk?"

Clary shook her head. She shut her eyes as Jace slipped a hand behind her knees and held on to him tightly.

She didn't open until she felt the fresh breeze and that the gun fire sounds were over.

"What's going on?" Isabelle screamed.

Clary opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Her voice was caught in her throat but she forced it out anyway. "What's happening? Jace why do you have a gun?"

Jace seemed to struggle with an inner dilemma. He met her green eyes, wide with fear and took in turn a deep breath.

"Because I don't work for the Alicante Bank. Clary, I work for the CIA."

* * *

><p>Haaaaah<p>

by that time I really expect you to hate me :D

Review if you do (or even if you don't lol)

Lilly


	14. The truth of a thousand lies

Hey guys!

So now I feel much better! Yay! So let's see how Clary's going to react shall we?

Love, Lilly

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: The Truth of a Thousand Lies<strong>

_What are you saying? You can't be working for the CIA! I know you. You're a banker. You're sweet and loving, okay sometimes you're cocky and arrogant, but you're not a liar. You wouldn't do that to me, you just–_

The sound of gunfire was still ringing in Clary's ears. She couldn't think straight; her fear-stricken heart was beating wildly in her chest, her vision was blurred by tears, and her head was aching. She was half-conscious of people staring at her while walking down the street. Blood stains tainted her shirt and hands, smelling of salt and metal, sour and bitter. She was cold.

But none of that – the pain, the smell, the sounds – seemed to matter as she hauled herself up on her feet.

"Clary, please say something."

Her mouth stayed shut while her eyes stared down at the pavement. She didn't know what to say –what she should say, what she wanted to say – it was too much for her to take right now. The world was like a dark tunnel with Jonathan's cruel smile at one end and Jace's lies at the other.

Somebody had tried to kill everyone she loved tonight. She shuddered. Somebody had _almost_ killed everyone she loved tonight.

"Clary!"

Jace's voice seemed to call for her from a distance, as if he weren't standing right next to her. It sounded like it always had, a small voice inside her head observed. It came from the same mouth that had told her he loved her. But now, she wasn't sure she wanted to listen to it anymore.

"Jace, we have to go!" Alec's voice was urgent and tense. "Aline's sending a protective detail for my parents and Clary's; they'll be upstate by dawn."

"Clary."

She blinked, but didn't look up. She was tired…so tired. Her muscles were numb and her brain didn't have the strength to order them to do anything other than stand still.

She felt a warm hand against her bare shoulder and a jolt went through her, like an electric charge awakening her body from slumber. She yanked his hand away hastily.

"Don't touch me," she croaked and cursed that her voice sounded so weak.

She looked up and met his eyes. They looked just as they always had. Was she really so stupid that she had thought that she could actually see through them? Or had Jace always been able to mimic what he wanted her to see? Right now she saw hurt and confusion, but was it true?

"Please let me explain," Jace begged and took her hands in his.

"Jace!" Alec almost screamed. "We have to go! Now!"

The group started to move forward. She noticed that Simon had a slight limp, but he held onto Isabelle tightly. Magnus' fingers were intertwined with Alec's, but he couldn't help watching his back as if he feared someone was following them.

"I'm not coming with you," Clary declared, and crossed her arms over her chest. Jace stopped. She looked at him without flinching. She had never felt so angry before about anything. "No way!"

"Clary, please! I know you're upset but– "

"That's the thing Jace! There's no _but_. Right now I would rather be anywhere than near you. You lied. From the day we met, you've been lying to me. And it's on your lies that we've built our entire relationship? How do you think I feel? The man I married is someone I don't know, you're someone else entirely! And you want me to go with you?"

Jace took a step forward but stopped when she backed down. She felt more tears gather up at the corners of her eyes. "How could I be so stupid?"

"I never lied about loving you," Jace said, "and I only lie about work to protect you."

"No," Clary replied and she let the tears flood her cheeks. "You lied because you didn't trust me! Which is worse. And now you want me to trust _you_? Well, I don't see any reason why I should."

"You don't see any reason?" Jace scoffed. "I may have lied about work and other things, but do you really not trust me? Do you really think I wouldn't do anything for you? Give my life to save yours? Clary, I know you're mad and I don't expect you to forgive me right now, but you _have_ to believe me when I tell you that your safety is all that matters to me."

Clary hesitated. "Clary." This time it was Alec who spoke. "It's not only about you, it's about all of us. Jace won't leave if you don't come and I'm not leaving him here, so please keep your anger back just long enough so we can get to the safe house. Do you think you can do that?"

She nodded and with a sigh she followed them.

"Besides, everyone lies," Alec added with a sad look on his face.

**xXx**

The safe house wasn't anything like Clary expected. But then again, she didn't know anything about working for the CIA other than what movies had showed her.

She had quickly changed into an oversized T-shirt that belonged to Jace and was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the largest room – she guessed it was the living room, although there was no furniture to back up that theory – with a bottle of water next to her.

Isabelle and Simon had disappeared into a room adjacent and were sleeping, while Magnus and Alec were getting dinner outside. Jace was sitting opposite her and talking fast on the phone. She couldn't help staring at him.

He had promised her some answers and Clary wasn't sure she wanted them at first, but now they were all she could think about. She closed her eyes and tried to remember a moment of her life with Jace that hadn't been stained with a lie – no matter how small – but those were so rare that eventually she gave up.

_Everyone lies_, Alec had said.

Well, of course that was true. Clary had lied. When she said that she loved baseball or that her first boyfriend was at the age of fourteen when in reality it was at seventeen and that he wasn't the great kisser she made him out to be. However, she never lied about killing people, about spying for the government.

When she reopened her eyes, Jace was sitting next to her, his back against the wall.

"You should drink something," he told her, gently pushing the bottled water in her direction.

"I'm not thirsty," Clary replied. "You said you would explain. I'm listening."

"Where do you want me to start?" Jace asked and although she could feel his eyes on her, searching her, she couldn't bring herself to meet them.

"How did you get into the CIA?"

"I was recruited."

"How?"

"By Hodge Starkweather. It was in high school. Alec and I were acing every subject, especially foreign languages. That caught their attention. They were looking at the colleges nearby – that's usually where they get their recruits from – and they caught wind of us, so Hodge decided to check us out."

"High school?" Clary repeated and he could see that she was horrified. "But you were just a kid."

"And we're the only ones who were ever taken in so young." Clary nodded. "We were eighteen, we needed adventures, we wanted to see the world, so we accepted. They took us to the Farm and trained us."

"The Farm?" What is it?"

"Hm, it's like a training center. We lived there. Training is supposed to take a year, more or less. They teach you how to assemble weapons in the dark, disable a bomb, charm your way into a politician's private mansion. Alec and I were done in three months. You know how my dad is, I started martial arts when I was twelve, so they didn't have much to teach me. And as for charm– "

Clary didn't say anything, but she started to relax as he started to open up. She turned to face him. Jace smiled, but made no move to touch her. He knew she needed some time, to understand and to forgive him…if she ever could, which he hoped she would, with all his heart.

"When we arrived at Langley, we were still kids in the eyes of everyone. No one took us seriously and it pissed us off. They put us behind a desk and in charge of monitoring information. Then, Archibald Aldertree, the DCS –"

"DCS?"

"Director of Clandestine Services – sorry – named Jules Moreau as the new head of the DPD – the Domestic Protection Division."

"And _she_ took you seriously," Clary finished, guessing.

"Yeah. She said she saw our true potential, but we were too young physically to work on 'normal missions' so instead of promoting us as field operatives – that's what we called our agents – she gave us a different kind of job."

"And what was it?"

Jace looked away briefly. He wasn't sure how much he could tell her. "I –"

"You said you would be honest." Clary didn't enjoy having to resort to emotional blackmail, but the future of their marriage – and probably their lives too – were hanging in the balance.

"We worked black ops. It's a special division of the CIA. You're asked to be a black op agent, you don't work to be one, if that makes any sense. Those missions are special and above all, secret. We operated in countries where we weren't supposed to be," Jace explained.

"Did you kill people?" Clary asked. She remembered a movie where the hero – she had forgotten his name – worked those kinds of missions where he had to kill people. He died at the end.

"They were enemies of the state," Jace said, his voice unwavering.

"How do you know?" Clary replied.

"We spent hours watching them, learning about them. We did everything we could to make sure we weren't going to kill someone innocent."

"How many?"

"Clary," Jace said as a warning, though his voice only whispered her name.

"How many?" she repeated.

"14," he answered.

She took a deep breath and just nodded. "What happened next?"

"We worked there for five years," Jace continued, "but after a while, we couldn't do it anymore. Our lives were not _our lives_ anymore and we wanted them back. So we asked for a transfer back into the main office of the DPD. Jules agreed immediately. No one had ever stayed that long in black ops.

"It took us time to readjust to a normal life – even if we were still under covert status – to going out, meeting people, seeing my parents for the holidays. But eventually we made it back to society." He chuckled. "And we started dating again."

Clary wasn't sure she wanted to hear about _that_, but didn't feel like interrupting him either. He must have seen it because he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you about that."

"But, what I can tell you is that the day I met you, I knew."

Clary blushed but held his gaze. "I knew that I wanted to be with you more than anything else. You can ask Alec when he comes back."

"If you loved me so much–"

"_Loved_? What? You think that because I lied that I don't love you anymore? That I never did?"

"I –"

"Clary," he began and took her hands, he sighed in relief when she didn't push him away. "Please, if you only want to believe one thing about everything I've ever told you, then believe that: I have loved you since the moment I met you – well, almost. I love you more and more every day, if that's even possible, and I'm going to love you until I die and if there's a part of me – my soul, my heart, my spirit or whatever – that somehow lives after that – whether there's a Hell or a Heaven – I will still love you then."

Clary's lips parted in surprise as she felt her heart tighten in her chest, skipping several beats. Without a word, she reached a hand across the space between them and grabbed his shirt. She tilted her chin up and her eyes seemed to drown in the gold purity of his. She pulled with all of her strength so that his body came crushing down on hers and she found herself lying against the cold floorboards of the room. She kissed him hungrily, feeling his love for her soaking through all the pores of his body, and lost herself in the sweet oblivion of giving everything up to a feeling you had no control over.

* * *

><p><strong>Read &amp; Review<strong>

See ya,

Lilly


	15. Safe House

Hey guys!

Sorry I'm only updating now, but I have exams coming up for the next two weeks so there won't be as many chapters as the last two weeks but don't worry I'm still going to post as many as I can write! But please don't pressure me, if you think it's helping, well it's really not because it makes me feel so guilty but I still have to work to pass my exams!^^

Anyway, back to the story^^

Love, Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen: Safe House<strong>

Jonathan was ramping. The blood coursing through his veins felt like an intense fire filled with murderous rage.

Jace had been standing in front of him. _Right in front of him_. If, instead of talking, he had just stretched his arms and squeezed hard enough, he would have been dead by now and he wouldn't feel so awful.

Clary had stood in front of him too, and although, she wasn't the main reason he had been on that roof, he hadn't been able to keep his eyes from lingering. She was beautiful with her plaited hair, falling loosely on her right shoulder with the yellow flower just above her ear and her emerald gazing from him to Jace with a confused look. But Anson Pangborn, that brainless idiotic beast of Emil's brother had to shoot the place down.

Jonathan had left without even knowing if Clary was okay. If she was alive. The thought that she may not be anymore was somehow frightening him, deep to the core of his heart –or whatever the name of the organ beating in its place was. So, in a moment of despair, he hoped Jace was as good as he pretended to be and had saved his wife.

He looked up from the chair he had been slouched into when they had come 'home'. He hadn't bothered to change despite the blood slowly drying on his cuffs, he didn't mind. He felt tired, sinking into the soft leather of the chair watching his father with a distant dark eye.

Valentine was nervously pacing up and down the living room, his hands tied behind his back. He, on the other hand, had taken a long hot shower and had changed into clean clothes.

"We had him!" he fulminated. "He was right in front of us!" He threw his hands in the air in despair. "How could this had happened Jonathan?"

He shrugged. "Maybe Emil was pissed off that you didn't need his stupid list anymore and sent Anson for their retaliation."

Valentine stopped abruptly. He slowly turned his head in his son's direction.

"That would make sense if Emil didn't have Anson on a tight leach. He knows how his brother can get… out of control. No, I think something has happened today, something that forced his hand when I refused to meet him at Pandemonium tomorrow," Valentine said, thinking out loud. "But what?"

"I have no idea. But he couldn't know we were there," Jonathan added and stood up. "On the roof I mean. No one followed me I'm sure of it, as I am sure no one followed you." Valentine nodded.

"Then they must have been following someone else then," Valentine said.

"Maybe they were following Jace and his little friends," Jonathan said scornfully. "On the way of betraying us, I'm sure he betrayed other people too, why not Emil?"

"No," Valentine replied. "Emil isn't one of revenge, not unless it concerns family."

"And that daughter of his is a dumb slut with no self-esteem, hardly considerable as one of Jace's girlfriends. As for Alexander," Jonathan wrinkled his nose but didn't finish.

"Jace is married and I know how much you care for the little redhead, I highly doubt he would cheat on her though," Valentine retorted. "However, Tatiana is as good a way to start as any. I'll go talk to Emil, you, find me someone talented enough with computers to find me Jace Herondale real address and everything he ever owned. I want to know everything."

"What makes you think Emil will tell you anything?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh, he will."

**xXx**

Clary's heart had stopped beating, or Jace's heart was so strongly beating between them that it felt as if hers didn't beat at all, he wasn't sure. Clary's face was flushed, her hands pressed flat against his chest. She seemed to hesitate before pulling him back against her body and his mouth found hers. Her hair was spread around her face in red waves of shining copper. He slid his hands along her bare thighs and under her shirt –his shirt– and she let out a short breath at the heat he was radiating. He gently smiled and leaned over, kissing her throat, whispering how much he loved her in her ear, feeling her entire body shiver under his touch. Clary wrapped her legs around his waist, suppressing a soft moan but–

"I can't," she said. She pushed him back, keeping a hand around his neck and sat on his lap. She bit her lip and blushed deeply. "I'm sorry. It's too soon."

"I understand." Jace forced a small smile, keeping his breathing even.

"You're mad," she said.

"No no!" Jace assured her and he kissed her forehead. "I'm not mad!" _Just turned on_, he wanted to say.

"It's not that I don't want to –believe me I do– but I have so many questions I want to ask you and if I don't do it now–"

"What do you wanna know?" Jace asked. He rested his back against the wall, keeping her in the circle of his arms.

"Does Aline and Sebastian work with you?" Clary asked, and she mentally slapped herself for being jealous that Aline would know something so important about her husband and she didn't.

"Yes, Aline is a techie and Sebastian is… Sebastian," Jace answered, a smile forming on his lips.

"What does _that_ mean?" Clary asked amused.

"It means that four days ago he was a desk-nerd and now he's an almost-agent. Next."

"How do you know Jonathan Morgenstern?" Clary wondered aloud. She felt Jace freeze under her. "Please. I need to know why I should hate him when he's been so sweet to me all this time."

"Sweet?" Jace repeated in disgust.

"Jace," she begged and he sighed. She turned around to face him, remotely conscious that she was straddling him.

"You met Valentine Morgenstern, right? He's his dad and this story starts with him." Clary nodded. "He was my mission. I was supposed to become close to him."

"Why?"

"Because before that, he always was a step ahead of us, selling secrets, dealing information, killing agents, kidnaping other's family to make them talk. Jules was sick of it so she sent me in under the name Jace Wayland. After a few months, he started trusting me. After a year, I was like his son but Jonathan never trusted me. I still don't know if it was because he knew I wasn't who I said I was or because he didn't like the fact that his father loved me as if I were his own."

"Did you?"

"Did I what?"

"Love him as a father?" Clary asked.

"No. My father is Stephen Herondale, I never had any doubt about that. He didn't do anything to make me search for another father figure. He was the one who has always been there for me and cared for me. If Valentine loves someone, it's himself, nothing else is _comparable_."

"_The greatest gift a parent can give a child is unconditional love. As a child wanders and strays, finding his bearings, he needs a sense of absolute love from a parent._"

Jace smiled. "Who said that?"

"I don't know," Clary admitted, "but my mom used to say that to me all the time when I was little and I asked her why she loved me."

"Well, I'm not sure Valentine is capable of that kind of love," Jace finally said. "As for wondering why someone would love you, I think you need to meet yourself." Clary kissed his cheek.

"So Jonathan hates you for stealing his father away from him," Clary summarized. Jace nodded. "Why do you think he was threatening me? You know, earlier at the party?"

"He wants you," Jace said and Clary grimaced, wrinkling her nose. "He does, and I can't say I blame it for that. I don't think he wants to hurt you either," he added and Clary could see it pained him to admit it.

"But why did he say I'll be better off with him?"

Jace took a deep breath. "Clary you have to listen very carefully, okay?" She nodded fervently, her emerald shining with fear and confusion. "They're in New York because they're after me and Alec –well mostly _me_– and they won't stop until I'm dead."

Clary's heart seemed to shrink into her chest and skipped several beats before she spoke again. "But couldn't we just talk to–"

"That's what I love about you," Jace said. "You'll do everything to protect the ones you love. But these people don't talk Clary."

"So what are we going to do?" She asked, her voice trembling as the fear of losing Jace took a hold of her and wouldn't let go.

"You are leaving the city," Jace said. "With Mags and Simon and Izzy."

"What?"

"You'll go to Idris and stay there until we come for you," Jace continued.

"Idris?"

"It's an island in the Pacific, far enough for Valentine and small enough so that the idea of going there would seem insane," Jace explained. "If we don't come, Aline will send you new identities and you'll have to start somewhere new."

Tears we're flowing down her cheeks. "What do you mean if you don't come? –I don't understand –I'm not going anywhere without you! I can't do it –I _won't_ do it. I need you!" She threw her hands up in the air, despair painted all over her face. "You can't do that to me!"

"I need to know, you'll be safe," Jace said.

"What about my parents?" She asked. "What about _your_ parents? And Alec's and Simon's?"

"The Agency has dispatched two security details, your parents are with Alec's on their way upstate in Luke's house and the protection on my parents has been increased. Don't worry about them, they'll be fine."

"It's my fault," she whispered. "When I mistake him for you. I kept saying your name over and over again and I told him you were blond and–" Her voice broke off. "All this –it's happening because of me."

**xXx**

Jules was staring right in the woman's eyes.

This woman was barely recognizable. Jules remember Reyna Branwell. She remembered her very clearly. They had shared a room at the Farm for a year and after that, they had worked together for years before Jules was transferred to the New York Office.

Reyna was beyond beautiful. She had waist-long strawberry blond hair falling in perfect and regular waves of silk, her eyes wear a light gray, almost transparent –their trainers repeated over and over they would help her get someone's trust because it would feel like you could see through them– the high cheekbones of her oval face were always splashed with pink, as were her thin lips. She was tall and always stood proud. That was why Jules had so much trouble reconciling the image of the Reyna she knew with the one of the woman sitting in front of her, nervously tugging on the sleeves of a worn out bleached blue cardigan, her eyes staring down at the table. The lines of age and life were weighting on her.

"Why did you come back Reyna?" Jules asked. She tried to put a friendly hand on hers –after all they had been friend at one point– but Reyna yanked it away as if they were poisonous. That's when she noticed that they were shaking.

Three knocks on the glass behind her call her back to order. She knew Aldertree wasn't only watching Reyna, he was also assessing Jules' ability to lead when her personal feeling were involved. She needed to be as professional as she could.

"State your name and identification number for the tape," Jules ordered gently, rearranging a lock of fair hair behind her ear. "Please."

"Reyna Branwell, 1708AlphaCharlie63."

"You're here on your on request, is that correct?" Jules continued, without bothering to open her file. She knew everything she needed to know.

"Cut the bullshit Jules!" Reyna snapped. "I'm here about him." She took a deep breath. "About Valentine. Is it true?" Her hands were shaking with rage, or maybe it was fear Jules realized but couldn't tell. Reyna had always been hard to read. That was what made her such a good operative.

"You know protocol, I can't discuss an ongoing operation with you," Jules answered. "We don't even know if you're still part of the Agency."

"Damn it Jules! There–"

"Calm down," Jules said between gritted teeth, moving her head imperceptibly toward the glass and Reyna understood. "Good. What was your relationship to Valentine Morgenstern?"

"He was my mission, 25 years ago."

"And after this mission, you vanished," Jules finished.

"I took something," Reyna said, "Before I left him. He–"

"What did you take?"

"He forced me to have him, I –I did–didn't but he made me," Reyna sobbed collapsing on the table, her head disappearing behind a wall of hair.

"Who are you talking about?"

"His –my son, Jonathan," Reyna said.

"Jonathan Morgenstern is your son?" Jules repeated in disbelief. "How is that possible?"

Reyna's snapped back up so fast, Jules slightly flinched. "You were there when they give the perimeters of the mission. I had to do anything possible to get information out of him about the missiles codes."

"And you did," Jules said. "Why didn't you came back after that?"

"Because he wouldn't let me." There was a look in Reyna's gray eyes that told Jules she wouldn't talk anymore about that subject.

"Okay. What did you take?" she repeated.

Reyna looked at the glass before she answered. "I don't know what it is exactly."

Aldertree suddenly barged into the room. "Do you have it?" he asked, his voice hard and demanding. Reyna shook her head.

"Search her," he said and two men wearing black gear came into the room. Reyna screamed but wasn't strong enough to fight them off.

"It's not on her, sir," the darker-haired of the two said.

"Give it to me," Aldertree hissed. Reyna looked blankly ahead. "Give it to me!"

"Get out," Jules said. He turned his head, a look of bewilderment in his eyes.

"What?"

"GET OUT," she ordered staring at him. He seemed the quickly weighed the pros and cons and eventually he left the room, slamming the door in a loud bang. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Reyna said but her voice was only a whisper. "I need to speak to someone but I don't know how to contact him."

"I'll try. Who is it?"

"Jace Herondale."

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><p>So what do you think Reyna has? Be creative!^^<p>

Review!

_So that you know_: there will be another update this weekend and **maybe** one tomorrow (I'm not promising anything) so no need to ask me when^^

I hope you liked it^^

See ya!

Lilly


	16. Hide and Seek

I'm so sorry it took so long for this chapter to come but I was experiencing the worst block ever! I really tried but nothing was good enough. Finally, in the metro I had a spark lol.

So here it is!

Also I have re-updated the first five chapters corrected by my beta _lilianneherondale_. Thank you for helping me and for your support. I'll post the others with the next chapters.

Love you all guys and I hope you'll forgive me!

Lilly.

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><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen: Hide and Seek<strong>

_Two weeks later_

Clary was supposed to be thousands of miles away from New York, lying on the beach of an earthly paradise but frozen with the fear of losing the man she loved. Isabelle was undoubtedly going crazy, not knowing if she was okay, not knowing if she was alive.

Magnus would lie for her, she knew. He would lie to Aline and pretend she was somewhere out of reach on the island, far enough so that she couldn't answer, but she also knew Aline wasn't stupid, and was bound to figure out that she never was on the plane that left for Idris two weeks ago.

Her life incognito in the city was both frightening and exhilarating. It was frightening because she could almost feel Valentine and Jonathan's presence at every street's corner, but it was somehow lessen by the thrill of doing something you weren't supposed to do.

Like follow your husband for instance.

Jace and Alec, she had time to notice, were a lot closer that she had initially thought and she guessed that on the battlefield they never let go of each other. So, when Jace had sneaked out of the safe house that morning, looking over his shoulder as if to make sure Alec wasn't following him, Clary had grabbed the cup of coffee next to her on the bar stool in front of the coffee shop's window facing the building, slipped her sunglasses on and followed him, staying as far away as she could without losing him from sight.

He walked in a hurry, as if he was late, his blond hair floating around his head in tousled halo of golden light, wearing only black. Clary had to suppress the urge to run up to him and confess the truth.

Clary didn't have any idea of what exactly she was doing. She had no plan.

_Well, that's not entirely true,_ she thought. _I know exactly what I have to do, I'm just not sure I have the balls to do it. _

Lost in her thoughts, but still hot on Jace's heels, she didn't realize they had walked all the way up to Harlem.

The street was eerily calm and she silently thanked Magnus' idea to dye her hair a more common shade of brown. Jace would have recognized his red-headed girl everywhere. Her eyes, hidden behind her dark glasses, had also changed color, although the blue contacts were making her want to scratch her eyes out and she was wearing that insanely short tight-fitting-leopard-printed dress –borrowed from Isabelle's dresser (Clary was pretty sure she had seen Izzy wear it as a top but she was never entirely certain: Isabelle did love to feel sexy and desired). Even if Jace turned around –which she hoped he wouldn't because her reaction would probably betray her right away– he wouldn't recognize her.

He turned right and entered a small garden. Clary stopped at the entrance and found a spot where she could hide, between two rose bushes with a perfect view of Jace walking toward a woman who didn't look familiar at all. She had long blond hair with long stripes of gray here and there, she sat on a graffiti-tagged bench with her hands properly folded on her thighs. The strong contrast between her regal-like appearance and the ill-kept garden felt like something Clary could have painted or drawn. She took a mental picture before concentrating again on them.

"I'm glad you could make it Jace," the woman said. He was standing in front of her and his height made him look like he was looming over her, like a predator ready to jump on its prey.

"How could I refuse you dear Reyna," he answered, taking her hand in his. He bent down and grazed it with his lips. Reyna smiled, shaking her head.

"You haven't changed," she laughed. "Always the charmer."

Jace took a seat next to her, his hand still wrapped around hers. Clary was too far to see, but her hands seemed to be shaking.

"What can I do for you?" Jace asked, his voice calm and soothing.

"It's what _I_ can do for _you_," Reyna corrected and he frowned. "But before I have a story to tell you."

"About what?"

"About Valentine Morgenstern."

Clary froze and crouched further down as she listened to the woman's tale.

Jace didn't understand why Reyna was so secretive, why Jules had insisted on keeping this little rendezvous off-record but if it was about Valentine, he would listen.

"I was quite young when I arrived at the Agency, though perhaps not as young as you were. It was my dream you know, being a spy, a story coming right out of a novel. They send me to Langley after I passed my final test at the Farm," Reyna paused and smiled at the memory. "I was so excited. Every pain, every fight with my parents, every humiliation in high school was worth it. But I quickly realized that, although the Agency had recruited me, being a woman was not an advantage. Thank God things have changed since but we were never men's equals. Do you know Archibald Aldertree?"

Jace nodded. "Of course, he's the DCS, I don't like him."

"He was the head of the DPD when I started. He put me in charge of the Walkings."

"The nut jobs? Seriously?" Jace asked. The Walkings were people coming to Langley with some theories of conspiracies. He had done it once. The first man he had met that day was convinced the country was being slowly taken over by man-like robots. "How long did you have to do it?"

"Two years." Jace gasped. "I know. And do you want to know why? Because I had refused to sleep with Aldertree on my first day. That pig was punishing me. I was proud then. So at first, I would do my job with a smile and pretend everything was okay, pretend that I was enjoying myself. But after two years I had enough.

"Luckily, Aldertree got transferred to the New York Office and the new DCS, Norman Bellefleur appointed me as his PA. He was such a nice man, told me that he saw my 'true potential' that I had nothing to do with the Walkings. I started to feel hope again. Working for Bellefleur, gave me a look of how our operative worked, how they were implanted everywhere, how much intelligence we were gathering every day."

She looked down at her fingers tangled into knots. "That's when I first heard of Valentine Morgenstern. He was a new agent at MI6, the kind that only exist once in a lifetime. Beautiful, mysterious, gifted. He was MI6 perfect weapon, and now that I think about it, a bit like you and Alec. Only I know your heart is good, Jace Herondale."

Jace shrugged. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like it is at all."

"I helped Bellefleur and Aldertree's replacement as head of the DPD –I forgot what his name was– monitor Valentine's movements."

"Why? Isn't MI6 our ally?" Jace asked.

"Oh sure it is," Reyna answered. "But the Agency was scared of Valentine's … talent. So they put surveillance on them. I don't think he knew at first. I'm surprised MI6 didn't put surveillance on you.

"Anyway, he went rogue that year. Vanished during a mission. We found bones of a man that matched his description so we all believed he had been killed by one of the Russian agents, or that the fire he had set had trapped him. Of course we were wrong. He reappeared six months after during one of the mission I was supervising, Norman had promoted me as a field agent in charge of small operations. He killed three of my men during one of them.

"For me, that's where it all started. It was personal. He was a lot harder to spy on but every bit of intel we were getting was another proof of his treason. Even with our forces and MI6's combined we couldn't catch him.

"That's where you decided to go in," Jace finished.

"It was just an idea at first, a nagging thought that it was our best chance, and I wasn't sure I could do it you know."

"But you did." Reyna nodded.

"I went undercover, throwing myself in his path. He actually saved my life. We went to dinner, he took me to Argentina, Thailand and India. He would always pretend to have an _errand_ to run and disappear. I don't think he ever realized I was following him everywhere he went. More than once I thought he would uncover the truth about me but I think his –she seemed to be looking for the right word– _affection_ was clouding his judgment. As I grew closer to him, he started revealing pieces of himself, of the truth to me. And of course, in each of the country he brought me to, there was a handler of the Agency waiting for me to pass on the information I was gathering. The more time I was spending with him, the less I hated him. There was something, about the way he talked, the way he looked at me that was appealing. I found myself in that tricky position where you know what you have to do but you're not sure it's the right thing to do anymore.

"I found out I was pregnant a year and a half after we met. He was ecstatic but also afraid. He believed his enemies would use me and the baby against him to get what they wanted. So we went back to New York and found an apartment in Brooklyn. I didn't really know what I supposed to do, but I sure as hell didn't want this baby. It was his, Valentine's, and if it meant that this tiny thing growing inside me would be like him –a heartless, cold-blooded murderer a traitor– then it shouldn't exist. I know it was an awful thing to think of such an innocent creature but I believed it was better if this baby never saw the light of day."

Reyna burst into tears and Jace hugged her gently. She knew about Jonathan, he thought. It was the worst thing that could happen to a mother, realizing that the fear that haunted you –that your own baby, your flesh and blood was as evil as his father– was real. She took deep breaths, sobbing into Jace's shirt.

"I tried to get it out of me." She touched her belly with the tip of her fingers and pulled the hem of her shirt up. There was a scar across it, old but still neatly carved into Reyna's skin. "When Valentine came home that night, he was– he got so angry. He rushed me to the hospital. 'Your baby is safe,' the nurse told me and I cried. Valentine bent over the bed's railing and whispered 'Don't you ever try to hurt my son again.'

"That night I didn't sleep. We came home and he locked me up in my room, tiding me to the bed. I had a bathroom and the TV but not much else. He would bring me lunch and dinner and check how the baby was doing every day.

"One day, his phone rang. He thought I was sleeping but I wasn't. He was talking about a USB key. As I listened I understood that it was a device he had stolen from the Japanese. A virus so powerful that it could crack every code, open every door. Victoria, he called it. He named it after the Queen. He was arguing about the price at which he was ready to steal it, laughing that it could bend every nation on their knees."

"You stole it," Jace realized, twinkle in his eyes. "That's why you ran away."

"Yes," Reyna nodded. "But I don't know how it works. Jonathan. He was so small when I left."

"Why didn't you take him with you?"

"I couldn't –I couldn't look at him without seeing Valentine in his eyes, without seeing the restraints his father had put on me for nine months. I wasn't a prisoner, it was worse than that I was –a _slave_. I hated myself, for blaming my baby for something he hadn't done but I couldn't help it. I know that it's too late now but I'm tired of hiding, of being scared. And if there is a way to save him, I have to try."

"And the key, do you have it on you? Is it the only copy?" Jace urged her.

"Yes," Reyna said, searching inside her purse for a few seconds. She handed him the key.

"Why did you ask to see me?" Jace added. "We barely know each other."

"Because you're the one who knows best. I was maybe away from the Agency for long but I kept tabs on Valentine. And I know there's no one as determined as you to bring him down once and for all."

There was a short silence. Jace meditated Reyna's words. Her story was close to his. He thought about Clary, about how much he missed her. Reyna was right, he would be the one to put an end to Valentine's reign because his life and more importantly Clary's were on the balance. Her smile was all the motivation he could need.

"Do you have any idea what we could do with it?" He whispered. "I have to call Aline."

"What do you want to do with it?" Reyna asked. "You don't want to use it, do you?"

"Valentine thinks this is all a game, and _I_ think I'm going to play," Jace smiled crookedly.

Clary sighed. The more she learned about Valentine the more frightened she was. Even if he wasn't there, her fingers were shaking violently. She wasn't especially brave, but when it came to Jace she would have done anything if it meant that he wouldn't be hurt.

The resemblance between Jonathan and Reyna was striking. It was clearly visible in the shape of their eyes, or their mouths and the way they stood. They were both beautiful; Jonathan in a darker way than Reyna was though.

She had no idea what Jace would do with the Japanese virus (_Victoria_? What a weird name for a virus) but she thought that maybe she could help.

Reyna wanted to save her son. Clary understood that, despite the fact that she didn't have any. Moreover, she didn't believe Jonathan was as evil as Jace made him to be or as cruel as the memories of his smile that was carved in her brain from the night on the roof.

If there was a way she could convince him to help them, locking Valentine away then she had to try. Jonathan liked her, and according to Jace and to Reyna's story she was probably the only girl he'd ever liked, which gave her a considerable advantage compared to Jace and Reyna. Besides, she looked harmless so he would probably never think twice about trusting her.

Finally, Clary knew she had to do it because _she_ was the reason all of this was happening to her friends, to her family, to the ones she loved.

* * *

><p>Read and Review!<p>

Once again I am so sorry for the late update! And there will be Clary/Jace parts in the next chapter.

See you soon!

Lilly.


	17. Fail until you surrender

Hey guys !

Here's chapter 16. Sorry for the wait. I'm working on this stupid block^^ and I'm on holidays so I'll try to update more I promise.

Love ya all!

Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen: Fail until you surrender<strong>

Marcus Garvey Park was unusually quiet, Jace noticed. There was no one but him and he didn't hear the traditional shouts and cries from neither Malcolm X Boulevard nor Madison Avenue. He was gently nestled on his bench with the trees surrounding him, hovering over him, casting long shadows of black leaves and branches over his back and arms. Jace allowed himself to relax which he had not done since he had put Clary in a plane for Idris two weeks ago. This was the longest he hadn't spoken to her in years. Even when they were just dating and he was in the middle of an op, there was always a time when he needed to hear her voice as if it were literally giving him strength.

He inhaled deeply, absentmindedly turning the USB key over in his hands, thinking about his next move. Reyna had left moments ago, and he had seen in the arch of her shoulders than the fact that she didn't possess Victoria anymore had lifted the heavy burden she had carry for the past twenty years. When she left, something told him that they would never see each other again.

Jace had a feeling that if Jules had sent Reyna all the way to Harlem it was because she didn't want him to give the key back just yet. Something at the office was wrong. Jace could tell. Jules usually followed protocol to the letter but not with this. What was going on?

He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do with Victoria.

_I have something that he wants_, he thought. _The only thing that could lure him out of hiding._

A smile perked up his lips. It was going to be easy. Lure him out and kill him. Jace froze. Should he kill him or bring him to the authorities? His first instinct was to end his life: less paperwork, less chances that Valentine would escape his custody and that way Jace could make sure he would never ever threaten Clary again. A nagging thought ran through his head. Could he do it?

A noise snapped him out of thoughts. He cocked his ear and heard it again. Like someone stepping on twigs. It seemed to come from the rose bushes. Without a sound, he stood up, his golden eyes peering at the green foliage. The ruffling stopped. He looked up at the long branches of a tree just above his head. The leaves weren't moving. No wind. Someone was there. He instinctively took out his knife. The sound of a rock hitting the iron gate of the park momentarily caught his attention. He frowned, and turned his head back to the bushes. A silhouette jump out, startling him, and run out of the park. Taken aback –mainly because she was a girl, and was not what he was expecting– Jace lost precious seconds before running after her.

She was short, with brown hair, a dress and high heels but she was fast. She raced down the deserted street, getting rid of her shoes without stopping. A cab was driving up the street and she launched herself in front of it. It nearly hit her but stopped. The driver shouted abruptly as she made her way inside the yellow vehicle. Jace sped up, he was almost there.

She seemed to shout an address and the driver sighed, before he slowly restarted his engine. Jace shouted at him but he didn't seem to hear. He was about to kick a streetlamp in frustration when he saw the mysterious woman taking her glasses off. Their eyes met and he could see fear, shyness and sorrow.

Jace's breath caught in his throat. She wasn't mysterious at all and it didn't matter what color were her eyes because he would know them anywhere.

She was _his_ Clary.

**xXx**

Jonathan was pacing through the room like a caged lion. He needed to get out. Valentine had stormed off in the morning, leaving behind him a note commanding him to stay inside. Two weeks and he hadn't set foot outside. Two weeks that Jonathan had been stuck in the apartment alone with his thoughts of Jace and Clary –mostly Clary– and he couldn't take it any longer.

He despised himself for being so genuinely worried for her but he couldn't help it. He sighed, resting his head on the wall next to the window. He took a deep breath just as the doorbell rang. He crossed the living room in a few long steps and slammed the door open.

"Do you honestly believed you could keep me in here for–" The rest of his sentence was lost in his throat as his eyes lowered on the small frail frame of the intruder. Clary was looking up at him. He stretched his neck, looked left then right before his eyes settled back on the girl. He frowned. Her hair was brown and her eyes were blue. He quickly deduced that she was hiding from someone. A chill ran down his spine, she was probably hiding from him.

"I came here alone," Clary said and although it was tinted with fear, it seemed to sing to Jonathan. "Jace doesn't know I'm here." Jonathan flinched at the mention of his name but kept his face cool and his eyes on Clary's child-like features.

"And why is that?" He asked leaning against the door frame.

"Can I come in?" She asked and, without waiting for the answer she pushed past him into the apartment. He followed her inside, checking once again the hallways to make sure this wasn't a trap.

"He's not here," he heard Clary say and he spun around. "I told you, I came here alone."

"It doesn't mean that I shouldn't check," Jonathan smiled. "Reasonable precaution you would agree. Why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

Clary set her glasses and hotel keys on the kitchen counter. "Jace doesn't even know I'm in New York."

"How come? I thought the two of you were _madly in love_." He laughed in derision and sat down on the leather couch.

"We are," Clary stated, her cheeks flushing lightly. He bit down his lips. "He's the most important thing in my life." Jonathan's eyes seemed to darken sensibly, causing Clary to back up until her back hit the wall facing him. "That's why I'm here."

"Please, do enlighten me," Jonathan said, gesturing the seat in front of him.

She shook her head. "I'm fine, thank you. I– I want to negotiate."

"Negotiate?" Jonathan repeated, chuckling. "Negotiate what? What could you possibly have that me and my father would want?"

"Me," she whispered and he froze. "I'm not talking about your dad of course I– mean I– you said–" She took a deep breath and her shoulders humped in defeat. "I just want my friends and my family safe. I know that this is my fault and I'm ready to pay the price for my mistakes."

"You think meeting me was a mistake?"

"I –at first I didn't, but obviously it was," she said and staring in his cold dark eyes she continued. "Some of my baby sister's friends were killed because of you! She will probably be scarred for life, my friends are million miles away and my husband has tried to ship me off so he could protect me from you and from your father." She took a step forward. "I have tried." She seemed to be talking to herself. She kneeled next to Jonathan and took his hands in hers. "I'll do anything. If you want me to stay with you I will."

"In exchange for your family's safety?"

"Yes," Clary nodded. "If you promise me you won't hurt my friends, my family or Jace, I'll stay with you."

"Forever?"

Clary swallowed. "Until I die."

Jonathan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Her skin was so soft, softer that he had dreamt of. When he opened them again she was still looking at him.

"Father would never agree," he whispered.

"Then you'll have to convince him."

"He'll think you'd be a threat," Jonathan argued.

"A threat? Me?" Clary allowed herself to laugh. He rearrange a lock of dyed brown hair behind her ear.

"How did you find me?" He asked.

"I overheard Alec and Jace talking about where you could be," Clary began. "I searched every one of those places."

Jonathan nodded. "I like you hair better in red."

"The color will come off after I washed it," Clary said. "So?"

"Okay," Jonathan decided. "You against the safety of everyone you love."

"Even Jace?" Clary asked. She had to be sure.

"Even Jace," Jonathan said. "Should we seal the deal with a kiss?"

Clary bit her lip, avoiding his gaze. She blushed deeply and nodded slightly. He bent down and scooped her face, crushing his mouth against hers. She wasn't in it but he couldn't blame her. He didn't mind, she would have time to learn to love him. The feeling of her soft lips under his was exhilarating and empowering. She was the one who broke the kiss but she kept his head into her hands.

"Why do you want me so badly Jonathan? I don't understand, what do I have that others don't?" She whispered.

He took her hand and pressed it on his chest, against his heart. "You're the only one who seems to be able to make it beat. I love you Clarissa and as long as you're with me, I swear nothing will happen to your family."

**xXx**

Valentine smiled as Jace made his way into through the crowd of _Vol de nuit_, a nice little bar next to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village.

"Jace!" He greeted him. "I must admit I was surprised to hear from you."

"I was surprised you answered," Jace said, returning Valentine's smile. They ordered drinks and found a quiet table, hidden in a corner.

"So, how's life in hiding?" Valentine asked.

"I'm not hiding," Jace answered.

"Of course you're not," Valentine answered. "Because that would be quite cowardly of you Jace Herondale and we both know that you're anything but a coward, aren't you?"

"Not the way you are that's for sure," Jace said with a smile, taking a sip of his whiskey.

Valentine didn't answer; he simply folded his hands on the table. "Well, now that the pleasantries are out of the way, shall we talk?" he asked.

"Oh I've got so much more small talk to do," Jace pouted. "Guess who I've ran into today? Reyna Branwell. It's amazing, isn't it? You two knew each other, didn't you? What a small world we live in!"

"You saw Reyna?" Valentine said, and Jace saw a crack in his composure. "Good for you."

"Oh yeah, she told me a fascinating story, about you, Jonathan and _Victoria_," Jace continued.

"How is she?" Valentine asked, playing along. "Last time I saw her she was on the brink of insanity."

"Much better now, no thanks to you. But it must be hard, right? Getting tricked twice by the same people?" Jace laughed. "Your talent has been overly exaggerated if you want my opinion."

"Reyna loved me, she adulated me."

"She did," Jace agreed. "Until you locked her up in a room for nine months. Now she just wants pay back."

"I did it to protect my son," Valentine said through gritted teeth.

"Honestly I think you should have let her get rid of him," Jace continued and his smile faded. "She would have saved a lot of people. But let's talk about Victoria." He took a USB key out of his pocket and put it on the table.

"Where did you get that?" Valentine spat, his eyes on the small device.

"Oh, Reyna gave it to me. _A virus that can open any door, break any code_. I have to say, there's a kind of elegance to it."

"What do you want?"

"What I've always wanted: your head on a platter."

* * *

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Lilly


	18. Putting the pieces together

Hey guys ! I'm so so sorry for this late update but I've been so busy this week and I just come home from my grandma's house where technology was never created so I couldn't do much.

If you have any ideas for the next chapters! Please PM me because I'm sure it could really be helpful^^

Thanx

Enjoy, Lilly

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen: Putting the pieces together<strong>

Sebastian took a deep breath from the fresh air of the balcony before walking back inside. Tatiana was soundly sleeping, her feet falling from the bed and her head hidden in the mist of several blankets and pillows.

Since her father had attacked Clary's little sister's party, Tatiana was on lockdown at the Carlyle hotel. Jace was on revenge mode and although his family-in-law had bot be harmed, he wanted payback for the death of three parents and two kids on that rooftop. Emil and Anson were going down. Permanently. Jace was working the Morgensterns case while Aline and he were in charge of finding legitimate proof to lock the Pangborns away forever. Sebastian had once again landed the night shift, guarding Tatiana in her hotel room –he secretly thought that Aline hated Tatiana too much to have the self-control not to kill her– and he was sitting at the living room table, yawning over an old newspaper.

From inside, the night was quiet and peaceful, illuminated with dozens of different colors.

After two weeks in captivity –if one could call the room of a famous hotel on New York City "captivity"– Tatiana's temper had calmed down, enough so they could talk like civilized adults. She talked a lot about her mother and he grandmother and he would tell her about his own parents who had tragically died in a car accident, describe his childhood in Paris with his aunt Elodie and how he missed the illuminated Eiffel Tower on New Year's Eve or the Galleries Lafayette's beautifully decorated windows.

"Sebastian?"

He shook his head, blinking, before his dark eyes focused on the darkened silhouette who had emerged from the bed.

"Yes?" He straightened on his chair. "What is it?"

"Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I'm not supposed to."

"Right. You're supposed to make sure I don't escape."

"I know you won't."

She sat in the chair next to him. He could feel the heaviness of her gaze on him, weighing in his soul.

"How can you know?"

"Because you know putting your father away is the right thing to do," Sebastian sighed.

"He's my dad, what makes you think I would ever betray him?"

"No one's asking you to," Sebastian said.

"Without me, you'll never get anything that'll hold up in court," Tatiana replied. "My dad and uncle are very careful about leaving no trace that could link them to their crimes. They hired someone in charge of that a long time ago, now they know that whatever happens, they'll be safe."

"Who?"

"I'm not sure. I think I read it somewhere."

"What was it?" Sebastian insisted. "The name."

"Archibald Aldertree."

**xXx**

Alec was on the brink of nervous breakdown when Jace entered the room. Since they had shipped Magnus, Clary, Isabelle and Simon off to Idris, Jace had been brooding.

"Where the hell were you?"

"Out," Jace said and didn't bother looking at his friend. He threw his coat in a corner and disappeared in the kitchen from where he emerged a few minutes later with two bottles of beer.

"And this morning?"

"Out," Jace repeated slouching down next to Alec.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Jace frowned his gaze lost in the whiteness of the wall.

"Usually you're more talkative than that," Alec answered. "What? Don't you have any prowess of yours you want to relate?"

"Nope."

"Ah, shame." Jace shrugged.

"God! What is it?" Alec insisted. "Stop keeping it all to yourself. For once, this is not only about you. Spill your guts. Now."

Jace sighed and turned to him. Alec's blue eyes were shining with red rage, his hands clenched around the old leather of the couch. He carefully listened as his friend explained everything, his meeting with Reyna, her story, Victoria, then his meeting with Valentine and the ultimatum he had given him. Alec didn't interrupt, he nodded, frowned in puzzlement, sighed in exasperation, shook his head but he didn't say a thing.

"There, now you know everything," Jace finally said after a couple minutes of awkward silence. He took a long sip of beer from the green bottle.

"Okay, do you have a plan to bring Valentine in?" Alec asked. Jace frowned. "What? You know he'll never give himself up. We need a plan. I think it would be good for a change." Jace chuckled. "There's something else."

"What could there possibly be?" Jace asked.

"Jace," Alec began. "I've known you for twenty years, the least you could do is give me credit for knowing you better than anybody else."

"You do, don't you?"

"Please. Let me help you."

"There's nothing you can do."

"Are we talking about Clary?" Alec asked. "Because I miss Magnus too so if you think I can't understand–"

"Clary didn't leave for Idris," Jace blurted out.

"What?" Alec's face darkened. "Jace, I know where you going and we both know that this is imposs–"

"I saw her," Jace replied. "Today."

"And I saw her climbed in the plane that took off at Newark private airport fifteen days ago."

"It was her Alec. I'm sure. I don't know how she did it but she did." Jace smiled and Alec thought that, for a split second he saw a flash of pride in Jace's eyes. "She dyed her hair brown, is wearing blue contact and your sister's sluttier outfits but it's her."

Alec took a deep breath. "Okay. What do you want to do?"

**xXx**

Clary pressed her hands harder against her mouth. She didn't want Jonathan to hear her. Up in the corner of the window frame with her knees to her chest she was sobbing, silently gazing upon the night life of New York City. It looked the same as always, illuminated by streetlamps and shops neon signs with people laughing, dancing and walking hand in hand, but she felt like she was a million miles away from that life. She missed Jace, and the idea of never seeing him again was more than just terrifying, it froze the blood running through her veins. She tried to wrap herself into the comfort of his safety –of everyone's safety– but it didn't work.

"Clare?"

"I'm here," she silently sobbed. "I can't sleep."

"You're safe here."

"I know. That's not it."

She heard him sigh in exasperation and shivered. Even in the dark, where she couldn't see him, Jonathan frightened her. She turned her gaze back to the street below, ignoring him as he sat in front of her on the window seat. She bit her lip when she felt his cold hand on her knee but didn't move.

"Jonathan?" A deep voice called him from the living room.

Clary felt her blood froze in her veins. Jonathan's father was back.

"Sh–Should I come with you?" She asked as Jonathan was standing back up and walking toward the door.

"No," he said. "Let me talk to him first." She nodded. "I'll be right back."

* * *

><p><strong>Read and Review<strong>

And a quick thank you to all of you who have added Catching Fire to their Favorites/Alerts or leave a review, you have no idea what this means to me^^ I love you guys!

See ya (soon I promise)

Lilly


	19. Goose chase

Okay guys! I know I've MIA for while and I'm really sorry about that but it was my best friend's birthday and she wanted me to finish a story I started last year so it took all my free and I still haven't finished yet.

I know this chapter is short, but I'll make it up to you promise.

Love, Lilly

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><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen: Goose chase<strong>

It turned out, Clary was a lot more difficult to track down than Jace and Alec had initially anticipated. They had found a trail that led to a hotel in Lower Manhattan but she was long gone when they got there. But they hadn't left empty handed and had decided to track the alias Clary had used to book her room: Leona Chaderry. Then the trail had led them all the way to the Upper West Side to a hotel, once again with an empty room.

"For a civilian, she sure knows how to go underground," Alec said and he saw the shadow of a smile perked up on Jace's lips. They were grabbing lunch at a small dinner, resting their feet before going back to the chase. "Wonder who taught her."

"Jocelyn told me once that she was always the best at Hide and Seek," Jace said absentmindedly. "She would stay hidden in the garden for hours before Luke had to lure her out."

"I see she put that talent to good use," Alec said and he smiled. "And I have to admit _Leona Chaderry_? That was pure genius."

"What do you mean?" Jace frowned.

"Are you serious?" Alec asked. "Don't tell me you missed it! It's an anagram!" He shook his head and took a napkin, scribbling the two names one under another and linked each letter of _Clary Herondale_ to its match in _Leona Chaderry_. Jace's golden eyes widened. He looked back and forth at the white napkin and at Alec who was smiling in triumph before grabbing his phone.

"She should be a spy," Alec said, nodding to himself while Jace was impatiently tapping his fingers against the cold aluminum of the table. "It's a work of art." He looked out the window and then his head snapped back at Jace. "How do you know Leona was Clary if you didn't get the anagram?"

Jace looked at him as if to say: are you serious? –or seriously stupid?. "I show them a picture."

"Right," Alec said and he lightly blushed.

"Aline?" Jace said after what seemed like a long time. "What the hell took you so long?" Alec heard Aline shout something in Jace's ear. "Really? Well that's interesting. No, that's not why I've called. I need you to get down to Hodge's office and ask him to run a name down for me and if you could be discrete about it that would be great."

Alec was annoyed to have only one part of the conversation but he just ordered another coffee while Jace and Aline were joyfully catching up. "Okay, no problem, I'll meet her there. Do you have any idea why she wants to see me there? I knew it!" Alec jumped back, surprised. Jace covered his phone with his hand and leaned forward whispering: "Aldertree is a traitor."

Alec's heart missed a beat. "Okay. The name is Leona Chaderry. And ask him to also run down every possible anagrams of Clary Herondale, please, it's important. Thank you. Yeah, I'll call you later."

"Are you sure?" Alec asked, only seconds after Jace had hung up. "You know we can't go after Aldertree without proof. He's the DCS."

"Jules had her suspicions; Verlac confirmed them."

"Shit," Alec cursed. "As if our lives weren't complicated enough with Valentine and his psychopathic son–"

"Don't forget the Pangborns brothers and lovely but crazy daughter," Jace interrupted.

"Oh yeah. Them. Now we have to stop the Director of Clandestine Services. Why God hates us so much?"

Jace shrugged. "I think it'll be fun."

"Let's find Clary first," Alec said. "Does she know you saw her?"

"Yes."

"And does she know you know it's her?" Alec continued.

"I think so," Jace said. "When the cab got away I think I saw said something like _sorry_," Jace explained.

"Do you think she's apologizing for lying about being away or for following you? I guess she could be sorry for both–"

"Neither," Jace replied.

"Then–"

"I think she was apologizing for something she was _about_ to do," Jace clarified.

Neither of them spoke for what seemed to be a very long time before Alec's face darkened. "What did you tell her?"

Jace looked confused. "About Valentine!" Alec almost shouted. "What did you tell her?"

"The truth."

"All the truth?" Alec insisted.

"Yes, that he's an evil scumbag who wants revenge for our 'betrayal'," Jace said, taking a large bite out of his cheeseburger.

"And nothing else?"

"I might have gotten into the details of the case," Jace said slowly. "What? My entire marriage was on the line, it wasn't the time to 'omit' some details."

"How did she take it?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"How did she take it?" Alec repeated.

Jace sighed. "She blamed herself. I tried to convince her that it wasn't her fault but she said that if she hadn't met Jonathan and if she hadn't invited him to Tabitha's party then we'd still be safe. Why what is it?"

"Did she noticed?" Alec asked. "How Jonathan looks at her?"

Jace shook his head. "What are–" He froze. "Oh shit."

* * *

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Lilly


	20. Consume his heart

Hey guys ! I want to thank you all for your reviews ! Especially the last ones because they really motivated me^^

I hope it'll be as much fun to read as it was writing it!

Love, Lilly

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen: Consume his heart and you shall live forever<strong>

_Jonathan has her. _

Clary's entire body was shaking when Jonathan came back into the room. She was crouched in a corner with her back against the wall, praying for the nightmare to stop, a child-like voice in her head nagging that it wouldn't. She had heard screams of anger, shattering of broken vases thrown at one's face before complete silence –the most frightening of all. Then the two voices had continued talking, in a much more civilized manner this time.

"Clary?" Jonathan asked, as he couldn't see her, his voice a sickening whisper that he thought was sweet.

He switched the light on and almost laughed. Clary frowned and stood up, dusting off her ling pajama bottoms.

"Do you and your dad always fight like this?" she asked.

"Yes," Jonathan said, a cruel smile on his lips. "Why? Don't you?"

"Throw vases at my dad's face? No, not really." Clary shook her head. "So what did he say?"

"Let just say that he doesn't like when I do deals behind his back," Jonathan started. "Especially when it concerns Jace Wayla– Herondale. You see," he continued, taking small steps closer to Clary who couldn't go any further. "Jace has that _effect_ on him. My dad wants him down –permanently– and he thinks you could be helpful."

"But you said–"

"I know," Jonathan cut her off. "I said I would protect everyone you love blablabla, but the thing is, as long as you are here, Jace and Alec won't stop coming after us, which is _unfortunate _for my dad's business."

"So no deal?" Clary said and lifted her chin up to look Jonathan in the eye.

"Sorry," he said.

"Fine, so I'm getting the hell out of here," she said, and pushed past him toward the door.

He caught her arm and spun her around, pulling her against his chest. She struggled trying to free herself, but it was no use; Jonathan was way too strong for her. He crushed his mouth onto hers, gripping her face so tightly that she felt dizzy with pain.

"You're not going anywhere, darling," Valentine said, strolling into the room. He stopped in front of her and his hand went crushing on Clary's cheek. "This is for trying to steal my son."

He looked at her in surprise as Clary didn't scream or burst out crying like he would have expected. She just looked at him with bright green eyes, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. She spat on his face. "This is for trying to kill my husband."

He raised his hand again but Jonathan caught it before it reached Clary's cheek again.

"My son and I have a lot of misunderstandings as you have probably fathomed from your eavesdropping. But there's one thing we agree on: Jace Herondale always takes what we want. Victoria, you." He sat at the end of Jonathan's bed. "And we also agreed that killing him right now would be too merciful after what he did to us. No, he deserves a much more slow and painful death… starting with your corpse at his feet."

**xXx**

"Get me Magnus on the phone," Jace almost roared, slamming the door to Hodge's office open. "Now."

Aline was standing in the middle of the room, typing frenetically on her tablet. The other member of Hodge's team were trying to locate Clary, whose picture had taken over most of the screen to help for the facial recognition process.

"What's going on Jace?" Hodge asked, putting a hand on Jace's shoulder, hand he shook as soon as it entered in contact with his black shirt.

"Clary isn't on Idris," he answered between gritted teeth.

Alec arrived then, heavily panting, holding a thick file in his hands. He looked around the room where everyone's attention was focused on Jace's furious face.

"At least, everyone's still alive," he whispered.

"I- It's not possible," Aline stuttered, felling Jace's murderous glare on her. "I saw her climb into the jet, you did too."

"Since then did you talk to her?" Jace sighed.

"No, it always seemed to be the wrong time, you know,"

"And that didn't strike you as odd?" Jace asked. "God Aline, do you realize what you've done?"

"Communication with Idris in thirty seconds sir," one of the members of the team said and handed Jace an ear piece.

"Jace," Alec began, "this is not her fault. Clary knew what she was doing."

Jace spun on his heels. "Are you serious? Do you honestly think she knew? She sacrificed herself for us –for _me_– she had no idea what she was getting herself into."

"Okay," Alec said. "But shouting on everyone won't help you find her. So let Aline do her job and–"

"Ahoy Captain Aline!" the joyful voice of Magnus filled the room through the speakers. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Maggs it's me, Jace."

There was a small silence. "You know," Magnus simply said.

"Yes, I do," Jace answered. "How could you let her do that? You were supposed to be her friend –_her best friend–_"

"Jace," Alec said again.

He took a deep breath and forced an ugly smile on his face. "What are you talking about?" Magnus asked.

"Clary didn't left for Idris with you Izzy and Si," Alec answered.

"Hey lover," Magnus greeted him.

"Focus, please," Jace interrupted him.

"Right. Clary got on the plane and you two left," Magnus began. "Then she started yapping on and on about how it was her fault and that she should be with you, helping you rather than shipped off to a wonderful island –which I love, if I may add. So she asked us for a small favor. Aline said that she couldn't leave until the plane was in the air –with us on board– and Clary isn't crazy enough to throw herself from a midair plane –even with a parachute– so I had to make a scene.

"I pretended I had forgotten one of my sketchpads for my new collection and that there was no way in hell that I was going to leave the Big Apple without it so Aline –after a half hour argument– left to get it for me."

"Did Clary say something before she left the plane?" Jace asked, his voice was only a whisper now.

"Yep, she said that she was going to you guys to help you bring down the bastard that is threatening our family. Why isn't she with–"

"What are you talking about," the faint voice of Isabelle rang behind Magnus, "Of course she's with them!"

"Jace?" Magnus asked.

Jace said nothing.

"Alec?"

"What's going on?" Isabelle asked. "You're on speaker," she added.

"I'm sorry," Alec began.

"Oh my God! She's not –she's not with you!" Magnus cried. "Where _is_ she?"

Alec turned to look at Jace. "We don't know exactly, but we think she's with Jonathan."

"The crazy son of your friend the psychopath?" Magnus said.

"What does that even mean?" Isabelle shouted. "You were supposed you protect her, you dim-witted idiots!"

"Izzy," Simon said. "Calm down, think about–"

"Don't you dare say 'the baby'," Isabelle warned him. "The baby is fine, my best friend on the other hand…"

"Listen to me, both of you, here's what you're going to do," Isabelle said, "You're going to hang up the phone and you're going to find this Jonathan person because you're supposed to be the best at what you guys do. Then, you're going to find Clary and when you do, Jace, you're going to beg for her forgiveness and if she's stupid enough to grant it to you, you'll give her everything she wants for the rest of your silly pathetic life. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," Jace said.

"Now go."

**xXx**

Clary woke up to the crystal shatter of more vases. It sounded like someone was moving the furniture around. Daylight was pouring into the room, bathing her tired eyes in the bright halo of late morning, partially blinding her. Jonathan wasn't in bed, for which she was glad; she had only fallen asleep the night before, because she was exhausted. Carefully she tiptoed out of bed and toward the door. She wanted to open the door but she was too afraid, there were so many male voices, she didn't recognize.

She remembered everything now as the pain reared back inside her: the black eye, the swollen lip, Valentine's laugh, Jonathan politely asking his father not to damage her too much, the hard floor as she fell on the ground, the cracking of her ribs, breaking inside her.

She knew she needed to escape, she was maybe strong minded but her body wouldn't withstand much more pain. She had to take the chance, had to warn Jace that they would use her as a trap for him and Alec, had to convince him that the best way to save their loved ones was for him to stay away. She opened the door slowly, and immediately wished she hadn't.

In the center of the room, tied up on a chair, bloody and was Jace.

* * *

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See ya!


	21. Brave heart

Here it is^^ the 20th chapter!I'm sorry it took so long but I had to start it like five times before finding the right way (plus I have exams coming up shortly T_T)

Thank you for all the Alert/Favorites you guys are awesome!

I hope you like it,

Love, Lilly

Don't forget to READ **AND** REVIEW

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty: Brave heart <strong>

Clary's eyes flew open.

Everything surrounding her was dark, motionless. She could feel the sweat on her forehead but it was like her arms were too heavy to move. She swallowed as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. One of her hands was resting above her head, tied to the headboard of the bed; Jonathan had wanted to make sure that she wouldn't try to sneak off and see Jace during the night.

The room was utterly calm, even Jonathan's breathing next to her was silent, as if he was dead.

_If only_, she thought.

Clary shivered. It was the first time in her life she had wished that someone she knew die, but again, no one she knew before would be capable of doing to Jace what Valentine and Jonathan had done. When she had come out of the room and saw Jace on the chair, with cuts and bruises all over his body, she had felt her heart shrink in her chest. Even now, it was beating slower than it should have and each beat awakened an ache to help her husband. She had never felt more scared and never felt stronger, but Clary knew she was tiny –and tied up to a bed.

Valentine and Jonathan had spent the entire afternoon with Jace. She could hear their muffled voices through the door, even after she had been dragged back inside.

"What have they done to you?" She whispered and as if, he could have heard her on the other side of the door, she heard Jace's chair move.

She pulled on her restraints to check how tight they were and winced as pain shot up her arm. She wanted to call out for him, tell him that she was okay, that she was more worried about him than he was about her. She started to look around, moving as carefully as she could to avoid waking Jonathan up.

There was only an old magazine on the bedside table, the curtains were too far away to be of any use –she was sure what she'd use them for anyway, her jeans with her belt was laying on a chair –also out of her reach, and there wasn't anything she could have used on the bed itself.

She sighed but didn't give up. Gracefully, Clary climbed out of the bed on the tip of her toes. She froze as Jonathan body turned toward her but after squinting into the darkness she concluded that he was still asleep. She crouched on the ground and, with her arm bent at a painful angle above her head she lied down on the floor and looked under the bed. At first, she could only see dust but after another few long minutes she detected a small bottle hidden behind one of the bed's feet.

A triumphant smile perked up her lips when the word _soap _detached itself from the bright blue package. She stood up and bent down her tied hand slowly pouring the gel on the tight fabric. And after only a few seconds, her hand had wriggled and writhed its way out of the bounds.

There wasn't any time to lose, she lightly ran to the door and yanked it open so it didn't creaked but keeping a hold on it so it didn't slammed against the wall. She closed it behind her the same way and turned.

Jace had his gaze fixed on her, boring into her head.

"How did you–"

She put a hand on his mouth and felt her heart raced in her chest. She stood up and quickly examined both Jace's restraints and his injuries. There were more cuts and more bruises than she had seen when they had brought him in. Now some burns extended on his chest and on his arms; she could see them through holes in his shirt. Against all odds, his face was fairly intact; she could only see a long cut on his cheek.

Without a word, Clary went into the kitchen and came back with a long pairs of scissors.

"It won't work," Jace whispered and her head snapped up toward the heavy-looking man that –she guessed– was supposed to guard Jace while Valentine was getting his beauty sleep. "These are manacles not your typical papier-mâché decorations."

Clary couldn't help but smile. Only her Jace could say things like that while being tied up and beaten.

She cut the plastic restraints which were holding his legs to the chair. "I'm not a complete idiot, thank you," she said.

"We'll talk about that later," he said.

"How am I supposed to break these?" she asked.

"I'm gonna guide you through it," Jace reassured her. "First, do you have a needle or a hair pin?"

"No," Clary said. "Don't move."

Jace looked at her and frowned. "Oh right. Sorry."

She disappeared in the kitchen again and when she came back she was holding a silver fork.

"Clary, honey, it'll never–" Jace stopped and watched as Clary bent down three of the fork's teeth. "You're pretty good at this."

"I have to be," she said. "I don't want to die here thank you."

Jace almost laughed. "Okay so you have to play with the point until you feel it clicked inside a keyhole."

"Wait," she said, "Okay I felt it."

"Good. Now slowly pushed to the right and then a tiny upward move, you should feel the tip lock into place."

There was a short snap and the manacles came off. Clary smiled proudly. "Not bad for a beginner, huh?"

But Jace was already moving toward the door. She carefully followed him, slightly disappointed that he didn't seem to have missed her as she had missed him. She could only think about kissing him.

_Bad timing_, she thought.

They were in front of the door when she tugged on his sleeve. He turned around with a frown, one of his hand still on the handle.

"Kiss me," she whispered.


	22. Like Crazy

_Lilly's here!_

_First of all I want to apologize to you guys for the giant hiatus. I have no excuse (other than moving to England I guess) for that and I promise I'll try to write the end of this story (don't panic there are still a few chapters to come) in the week(s) that follow. _

_Thank you for all the reviews and I hope this part is worth the wait!_

_R&R _

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-One: I love you, I want you, I need you, I miss you like crazy<strong>

Jace stared at her. "Are you serious? I do have other things on my mind right now Clary, like saving our asses for starters."

"You're mad at me," she stated, staring at the floor, nervously twisting her fingers.

"We'll talk about this later," he repeated, shaking his head and turning back to the door.

Clary rolled her eyes, sometimes it felt like she was her husband's daughter. And she hated being patronized. "I only did this to protect you! All of you! I thought you'd be-"

"You thought I'd be what? _Proud_ that you risked your life and acted impulsively? Sorry to disappoint," Jace whispered through clenched teeth, glaring at her.

She threw her hands in the air. "I'm sorry!"

"Are you out of your mind? Do you want to wake everyone up?"

She pouted, crossed her arms on her chest and watched the dark living room while Jace was working the door open with Clary's fork. She didn't think it was working really well since he couldn't stop grumbling under his breath. She stopped talking, replaying the events over and over in her head, trying to figure how her life had been turned upside down in only a month.

Her father, mother and sister had to go in hiding after they witness their own friends being murdered. When the though crossed her mind, she wondered if she'd ever see them again.

Then, she had to find out that during the two years she had been married to Jace Herondale and the four they had known each other he had been lying to her almost every single day to go chase down drugs lords and arms dealers around the world for no other than the CIA. And he practically demanded that she get over it as quickly as she could because he had other things to do than wait for her to come around; which out of love, she did.

She had introduced a monster to her family and as if this simple fact wasn't enough she had laid in bed next to him because she believed it would keep her family safe.

It didn't matter how hard she tried her life seemed to be an unending nightmare. All she wanted was to be held before she went insane but Jace was way too pissed off to even care.

"I just want to go home," she whispered to herself as tear gathered at the corners of her tired emerald eyes. She sat with her back against the door and closed her eyes, picturing the bedroom of their penthouse. "Please take me home."

**xXx**

"It was a mistake," Alec said. He was nervously pacing Hodge's office, glancing at the monitors from time to time. The CIA –well Aline to be more precise- had access to every single camera in New York but it wasn't much help, he hadn't seen either Jace or Clary come out of Valentine's building. He turned to Hodge, trying to keep his cool. "How do you know he's not dead?"

"I don't," Hodge answered honestly. "But Jace is more than capable of getting himself out of every situation."

"It's different," Alec argued. "The game has changed. Clary is involved now. Jace gets reckless when it's about her. You saw what happened: he gave himself up to Valentine himself. The man who wants to kill him!"

"He made his choices Alexander," Hodge said. "You have to trust him."

"I should be in there with him," Alec grumbled, ignoring Hodge and turning back to the screens. Aline came in and handed him a steaming cup which Alec gulped down.

"Any news?" She asked. She patted Alec shoulder but he quickly shook her off, glaring at her. She took a step back and slid into a chair. Nothing she could say could make him feel better but if she got something, it would calm him down. Besides, she wanted Jace back as much as he did –probably more even.

Hodge shook his head. "I always taught you to trust your instincts. What do you want to do?"

"I wanna go in," Alec said.

"Okay."

Hodge turned to the team and after a couple minutes of silence, he said: "I want a task force with the DPD ready in half an hour, call Jules to set it up. I want eyes in the air, snipers but no one does anything unless Alec or I give the order and-"

The door creaked open.

"It has come to my attention that one of our own had been captured by Valentine Morgenstern," said DCS Archibald Aldertree as he walked inside the office.

Alec, who was arguing with Aline over the details of the operation turned around. It was very unlikely that director of Clandestine Services would come down to Hodge's office. Usually, non-covert status agents stayed in their 100-foot-square offices, they didn't mingle with the rest of them. He had only seen Aldertree when the DPD budget had been cut the year before because of the economic recession.

Jules followed him inside, her stiletto clicking on the floor. Her face was unreadable but Alec knew what she was thinking. Earlier, before Jace knelt down to Valentine, she had held a meeting in the ladies' restrooms of the CIA's basement –where the archivists worked– sharing her concern about Sebastian's revelation of Aldertree as Valentine mole. It all made sense, Alec thought, why Valentine was so good.

_You're as good as the company you keep_, he had once said to Jace when they were undercover. _The more people's back you scratch, the further you'll get._

Alec just hoped Hodge would remember.

Hodge was the first to answer. "Yes, Sir. Jonathan Herondale had been caught."

"Herondale?" Aldertree repeated, intrigued. "Wasn't he one of our top agents?"

Alec winced. "He _is_," he said through gritted teeth. He gazed up and Jules shook her head almost imperceptibly. If Jace was dead, Jules would know.

Aldertree chuckled. "So what's the plan?"

**xXx**

The lock fell into place. Jace smiled. "Okay, let's go."

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><p>Review and follow! =)<p>

3


	23. Plan B

_Hey guys ! I'm not going to bother you with apologies and other things^^ Just enjoy the chapter. I'm posting two of them right now!_

_Love, Lilly_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-two: Plan B<strong>

It wasn't quite day but the night wasn't over either. Dawn was slowly rising above the horizon when Maia woke up suddenly, alerted by Killian's cries. It shed eerie shadows of gray against the walls. Jordan hadn't come back from work but Maia wasn't worried; with time she had learned to adapt to Jordan's busy schedule and there was only so much time his bosses at Alicante would allow him to take, even for his son. She rubbed her eyes as she sat down on the couch and stretched her numb limbs before standing up.

"What is it baby?" She asked the little boy once she had entered the room. Killian stopped crying and looked at his mother with his huge hazel eyes. She wondered, not for the first time, what babies thought about. She gently took him in her arms and rocked him until he fell back asleep. She kissed the top of his head and settled him back into his crib before tip-toeing out of the room, closing the door as softly as she could.

She was about to go back to sleep but the front door hissed open and a tired Jordan entered their small apartment, dragging his feet on the floor. He threw his jacket over the kitchen counter and the crystal clattering of his keys falling into the bowl echoed through the walls. He looked up and jumped back when he noticed Maia staring right at him.

"Gee you scared me!" he exclaimed, a hand on his chest.

"Sorry, I just needed to sleep in another room than Killian's," she said.

He slouched in the couch next to her, his feet finding their way to the coffee table. "You look exhausted," he said, twirling a brown curl around a finger.

"I'm fine," she said with a smile. "Besides I think you look worse than I do."

"Probably," he chuckled.

He turned his head to her and kissed her lips lightly. "I love you."

"I know," she said leaning on his shoulder. "It just feels like since Killian was born, we haven't been able to catch a breath. Between work, the new apartment, the wedding and the baby, it's beginning to be a lot to handle on our own."

"You're right," Jordan said suddenly sitting straight. "We need a couple of days away from all of this, away from the city. How about we go and visit your mum in Florida?"

"Come on, you've been working like crazy, they'll never let you take two days off," Maia reasoned.

"I do have a meeting with the board of directors tomorrow," he answered and pinched his lips while he was thinking. "Then maybe you and Ky and go ahead and I'll meet you guys tomorrow night."

"That sounds like a plan," she said. He took her hand and kissed it. She smiled, shook her head and pulled him back against the couch. Before he could understand what was happening, Maia was straddling him.

They were locked in a tight embrace. Maia could feel every single fiber in her body light up as his hands were swiftly moving up her thighs. His shirt was somewhere underneath the coffee table as was hers –in shreds. His mouth was hot and she quickly found herself craving more. She realized that she hadn't had sex since Killian was born and her libido was in serious overdrive. Jordan's was too, she thought or rather felt. His breath was heavy and uneven and his lips brushed every part of her. He held her body as he lay her down on her back.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a ragged whisper.

Maia smiled. If it had been any other occasion she would have laughed and told him something about the fact that she was already naked under him; but she wanted him so much that sarcasm wasn't on her mind that night. She knew he was asking because he was afraid her body wasn't ready for that kind of intimacy. But both her body and her mind was on fire. Not only did she want this, she needed this if she was not to explode. She swallowed hard and nodded, hands already trying to unbuckle his belt.

"I love you so much," he said again, inhaling the coconut scent of her hair.

"I love–"

Three short knocks on the door cut her short. She frowned and looked at Jordan. He shook her head. Neither of them was waiting for someone –especially not at three in the morning. As a reflex, Maia threw her head back so she could see the door of their bedroom where Killian's seemed to remain asleep.

Whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again.

"Go to the room," Jordan ordered her, slipping his shirt back on. His voice was low but hard. "Go!" He repeated when he saw that she hadn't moved.

"What's going on Jordan?" she asked, gathering her stuff.

"Don't worry, everything's going to be okay," Jordan said. His face softened and he kissed her forehead. "Now go."

He walked slowly to the front door, grabbing a kitchen knife as he did so, which he kept hidden behind his back. He quickly look through the peep-hole and his eyes went wide. The door flew open on Jace bloody-faced and a shaking Clary, sleeping –or possibly and more probably fainted– in his arms.

Jace smirked. "Aren't you going to invite us in?"

**xXx**

Lights were blazing from every corners of the room as the special team burst into Valentine's apartment, snipers ready to shoot. They split into pairs and started searching the premises.

"Something's wrong," Alec murmured to himself. "It's way too quiet."

"What do you mean?" Aline asked through the earpiece.

Alec didn't answer. In the center of the room was an empty chair and around it, blood stained the carpet. A lot of blood. Jace was here. His shackles were lying on the ground, as were the zipcuffs that had undoubtedly restrained his feet to the chair.

"Clear!" He heard one of the pairs shout from the adjacent room.

"No one's here!" he exclaimed and took a deep breath to control his anger.

"What do you mean no one's here?" Aline asked.

"Are you deaf?" Alec said through gritted teeth. "There's no one in this fucking dump! They knew we were coming!"

"How could they?" Jules asked. "We lied to Aldertree, there's no way he knew about this."

"Unless he figured it out," Hodge replied. "I mean, he _is_ a spy."

"That's fucking great!" Alec exclaimed, kicking the chair which went crushing down against a wall.

"There's no one here sir."

"I can see that," Alec said. "Search the whole building, knock down every single fucking door if you have too. I want to know how he got out of here before we arrived!"

"Alec, calm down," Jules ordered.

"Calm down?" Alec laughed nervously. "I'm standing in Jace's blood. He could be dead. As could Clary. And you want me to calm down?! If I get my hands on Valentin–"

"What if he escaped?" Aline suggested.

As she spoke, a ray of moonlight reflected on a silver object.

"Wait a second." Alec bent down and picked it up. It was a fork with three of his dent curved down. "I think someone freed him."

"How do you know?" Jules asked.

"Clary," Alec whispered and his face broke into a smile. "Clever girl."

"Where would Jace go if he got out?" Hodge asked. "Not home or even the safe house."

"I'm not sure," Alec began. "But because Clary's involved, Jace wouldn't go to the usual places. I think he would take her to somebody he knew. Someone who could protect her."

"So you," Aline clarified.

"No," Alec retorted. "Valentine is also after me, he knows she can't come to my place."

"Then where?" Jules asked. Her patience was wearing thin.

"His dad!" Alec exclaimed.

"Doesn't his family live in Maine?" Hodge asked.

"You're right," Alec agreed. "It's too far and he would put our families at risk."

"Maybe we don't have to figure out where he is," Aline pointed out. "As soon as he's safe he will contact us."

"Aline's right," Jules said. "If he escaped, then our priority is to find Valentine and Jonathan."

**xXx**

"What happened?" Jordan asked, handing Jace a wet cloth to clean the dry blood off his face. He put a stack of clean clothes near the washbasin and sat on the bathtub's edge. After he had let him in, Jace had settled Clary on the couch and Maia had gotten her a blanket to cover her shivering body. She hadn't asked question yet but Jordan knew she would, it was only a matter of time. Then she had fixed Jace something to eat before returning to bed, where Killian had woken up again.

"How much time do you have?" Jace replied, wincing as pain shot up his arm and chest.

"This has to do with Valentine Morgenstern, hasn't it?"

"How do you know?"

"I just came home from the Agency. Everyone is doing double shifts until we find him," Jordan explained.

"He took Clary," Jace said. It wasn't exactly true but that was how he saw it.

"He did what?"

"Do you have your encrypted phone on you?" Jace asked buttoning up one of Jordan's blue shirts.

"Here."

"Thanks, I need to call home."

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><p><em>Read and Review!<em>

_And I want to know how you think all of this will end?_


	24. Last cards

**Chapter Twenty-three: Last cards**

Jonathan was fulminating. He underestimated Clary and her love for Jace. And because of that he was hiding in a warehouse like a rat. Valentine had been on the phone with Aldertree since his call had saved them from the attack on the apartment. He hadn't tried to understand what he was planning, too angry to focus on anything but his rage but whatever his father was planning, it was big.

_Good_, he thought. He needed some action.

_Not exactly_, he corrected himself. He needed somebody to kill.

And he knew just who. If he couldn't have Clary than no one would. Above all, not Jace Herondale.

**xXx**

Clary squinted, blinded by the sunlight pouring into the room through the open windows. She yawned and sat up, frowning at the sight of the old leather couch on which was sitting. The events of the night before gripped her so tightly that for a few seconds she couldn't breathe.

"Where am I?" She wondered. "Jace!" The place looked familiar though.

"Clary?"

Maia.

"How did I get here?" She asked as the young mother sat down next to her, little Killian in her lap. He was playing with a small wooden toy. "Where is Jace?"

"He left with Jordan about an hour ago," Maia said. "He carried you here last night. You don't remember?"

Clary shook her head. "Anyway, he didn't want to leave you alone so I offered to stay by your side until you wake up."

"Is he okay?" Clary asked.

"He is." She put the hand that wasn't holding her baby on Clary's. "Don't worry."

Clary nodded. "Okay. I need to see him."

"Like I said, they already left," Maia repeated. "Did you know?" She added after a short pause. "That they worked for the CIA?"

Clary looked up. "I did. Jace told me about three weeks ago. And I'm not sure that I really realized what it means."

"What the hell happened to you guys?" She wanted to know, covering Killian's ears with her hands. The little boy looked up at her with quizzical eyes and tried to shake her hands off, whining. She topped his head with a kiss and he went back to playing.

Clary inhaled deeply before spilling her guts to Maia. She thought that if someone in this city could understand her, it had to be her. After all, they were in the exact situation. Maia listened to the all story without interrupting her. When she was finished, Clary was standing in the middle of the living room, both her hands bracing herself. She looked at Maia, waiting for her to say something.

"Wow," she whispered. "I never thought it would actually make me feel better but it does."

"Of course it does!" Maia exclaimed. "No person could withhold that much and not explode!"

She stood up in turn and disappeared into her bedroom from which she emerged minutes later and threw Clary a dress.

"Go change," she ordered her.

"Why?"

"Because we're going to Alicante."

**xXx**

Alec's relief had not only spread through his face but through his whole body language. He was back to the way he used to be: calm and cold. Jace was back at his sides and the whole department felt a bit safer when he was around.

The search for Valentine had quickly turned into a manhunt. The CIA had joined forces with MI6, the French Secret Service and even the KGB to put him down and even if each of the agencies wanted the credit of his arrest –or his murder depending on which side of the Atlantic they were settled– they all worked toward the same goal.

Alec, Aline, Jules and Jace were standing in Hodge's office which had become the DPD's new headquarters for Valentine's case. The front stayed open as people rushed in and out of the room all day long.

Aline had been tasked with the decryption of Victoria –Valentine's ultimate weapon that was now in the CIA's possession– and Alec had noticed that dark purple lines had started to accumulate under Aline's brown eyes. She was exhausted.

Hodge was running point. He knew his team better than anyone else and he had assigned each of them with the task that would them best. And as usual, Jules was supervising everything. After the splendid failure of the attack on Valentine's apartment, she had no choice but re-encrypting every file so Archibald Aldertree couldn't access them and betray them again. She had been on the line with the director of the Agency earlier to share her suspicion about the DCS with him but until they got hard proof, nothing could be done about it so while Hodge and his team were charged with finding Valentine, she had assigned a small team, led by Jordan Kyle, to investigate Aldertree past.

"Did we try all of Pangborn's hideouts?" Jace asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Where are the Pangborns by the way?" Alec wondered aloud. "I mean, the last time we heard about them, they killed three parents and two children at Tabitha's birthday party to get Tatiana back."

"Sebastian's still on it," Hodge began. "Apparently Tatiana is warming up to the idea of giving us enough to lock her father away for good."

"Good, something less to worry about," Alec sighed.

"Sir," a man with a headset and a file in his hands entered the room.

"What is it?" Hodge asked annoyed.

"I have two ladies at the reception desk that are demanding access to the building," he explained.

"Who?" Alec asked.

The man looked down at the file. "A Maia Kyle and Clary Herondale?" He read out.

Jace spun on his heels. "What?"

"Why would Clary come here?" Alec frowned.

"Let them in," Hodge ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"Hodge!" Jace exclaimed.

"I don't have time to deal with that right now," he waved him off. "But the Alicante building is the safest place for them to be."

"He's right," Alec said.

"Fine," Jace said.

**xXx**

Clary and Maia were being led through a maze of corridors by a man with a sharp nose and small glassy green eyes. The rapid pace was hard to follow –especially if you were carrying a baby– and the throaty chuckle of his voice made them feel extremely ill-at-ease. The interior of the building was very different from what the girls had pictured. Clary had already been there, but the assistant who had led her to Jace's (fake) office had just sent her to the top levels of the tower. It felt like they were in some kind of underground basement or something. There were no windows, just a never-ending series of doors, each labeled with the name of a person or a department.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Maia asked.

"Yes," the man answered. He turned right and Clary started to hear voices coming from the far end of the corridor.

"Maia!" They turned around. Jordan was running toward them. "I'll take from here," he told the man who shrugged and after shooting the girls a last look of contempt, he vanished.

"Clary had an epiphany concerning this Valentine Morgenstern and I promised Jace I'd stay with her."

Jordan frowned and took Killian who was gently napping in his arms. He then took them to the last office, the only one whose door was open.

Jace was looking better, Clary immediately noticed, now that he was cleaned up and –she hoped– rested.

"Hey," she said feebly.

"You shouldn't be here," Jace said, and she rolled her eyes.

"I needed to see you," she whispered and taken aback, he smiled.

Alec crossed the room toward her and he hugged her tightly. Clary froze, stunned. In the years that she had known him, Alec had never hugged anyone but his sister or Magnus. He wasn't the hugging type. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said, his head buried in her messy hair.

"Thanks Alec, you have no idea how much that means to me," she replied. He released her and blushed as he turned to Jace who had his eyes wide open.

"What?" Alec shrugged.

"I didn't say anything," Jace smirked. He took Clary's hand.

"So that's where you work?" She asked. "I mean really work?"

"No, this is Hodge office," he answered.

"I was thinking on the way here," Clary began.

"Thinking's good," Jace said.

"Listen!" Clary ordered. "Before you arrived in the apartment, I overheard Jonathan and Valentine talk about a plan B, if things ever went sideways."

"Which we can all say they have," Maia said.

"Can you remember what this plan B was?" Hodge asked.

"Yeah, they were talking about a warehouse in Williamsburg I think," Clary answered. "I thought they would leave the country but Valentine said he wasn't leaving until he had what he came for. Then they argued about someone named Reya, I think that was her name."

"Reyna," Jace said and before Clary had time to blink, he had grabbed a phone and was frenetically typing in a number.

**xXx**

"Protective custody?" Reyna repeated.

She was sitting in Central Park, a book in her lap, soaking in the sunlight. The sun was still high in the blue unclouded sky and the laughter of children always made her feel better. A ball rolled down to her feet and she kicked it back to the little boys that were playing soccer a few yards further.

"Are you sure this is necessary Jace?" She asked. "I'm fine. Valentine doesn't even know that I live in New–"

She stopped mid track. A long shadow was blocking her sun. She looked up and froze. Her heart began racing and she could barely breathe.

"Reyna, my dear Reyna." Valentine's voice sounded exactly as she remembered. It was soft and mellowing but at the same time menacing. It still made her pulse race and all the fears she had carried through the years came crashing down on her. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

"Reyna!" Jace called out.

Valentine took the phone from her hand. "Jace? What a surprise!" He exclaimed. "The last time we spoke to each other, you were tied up to a chair."

"If you hurt her–"

"No need for threats," Valentine cut him. "But I guess we have a lot to talk about. But face to face, I don't like talking over the phone."

"Good, I want to see your face when I'll lodge a bullet through your brain."

"I'll text you the details," Valentine said, ignoring him. "Oh and say hello to your Clarissa from Jonathan. He's very excited at the prospect of seeing her again."

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><p><em>Read and review and continue to tell me what should happen next!<em>

_Love,_

_Lilly_


	25. Suicide Mission

_Ahoy earthlings! I hope you're ready because these are the two chapters before the last one ! (okay not entirely true, there will be an epilogue!) _

_As usual Read and review!_

_Love, Lilly_

_Oh and thank you to _Itz- Mikki Mtz18 _and_ Jacelightwood17 for their ideas! They were great!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-four: Suicide mission<strong>

"Jace?" Clary's voice was soft and calm but he could hear the worry in it. It seemed far away though. As if a wall had spurted between him and the rest of the room. His hand was clenched around the phone. Valentine had Reyna. The man had patience, Jace had to recognize that. He had waited twenty-five years for his revenge. She could be dead already. Jace sighed and closed his eyes; he knew what he had to do.

"Jace?" This time it was Alec's voice and its strength snapped him back to reality. Before he saw his friend move, his hand was already on his shoulder.

"He has Reyna," Jace said matter-of-factly, keeping the turmoil of it all inside.

He saw Jules take a sharp breath. "What does it want with her?" She asked, to no one in particular. "He knows she doesn't have Victoria anymore."

"It was never about Victoria," Aline said. She rose to her feet and showed her tablet to everyone. The screen was black and covered in code lining up in white digital letters and digits. The red word 'error' was blinking at the center of it. "It doesn't work."

"He wanted to draw her out," Alec began. "It was about Reyna from the beginning."

"And what we're just the bonus package?" Jace asked. He was half-sitting on Hodge's small desk, staring at the ground, his fists clenched at his sides.

"We need to get her back," Jules decided.

"I agree," Hodge said. "She risked her life by coming out of hiding for us. The least we can do is try."

"The least you can do is _succeed_," Maia interjected. Jace's head snapped up and he looked at her with amusement.

"Maia's right," Jordan agreed, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll go," Jace said. It wasn't a question, a request nor was there any hesitation in his voice.

"No!" Clary exclaimed. She had remained silent, feeling out of place but the prospect of seeing Jace beaten up again had stirred the little confidence she had. "Are you out of your mind?! The last time you decided to go by yourself I found you beaten half to dead on a chair!"

"I agree with her," Alec said. "If you're going, I'm coming with you. And this time we end this."

**xXx**

"So according to the DR678," Aline began and pointed to the screen to her right. "There are only five people in the warehouse."

"Are we sure it's the right one?" Alec asked.

"It's the only one with any heat residue," she answered. "The others haven't been used for a long while."

"Wait: did you say DR678 as in a military drone?" Jordan repeated in dismay. "Did you hack into Homeland Security and had one of their drones fly over New York?"

Aline smiled and shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh God, we're all going to prison," he whispered and caught a glimpse of Jace smiling.

"Relax," Maia said, kissing his and Killian's cheek. "This is exciting."

"What's the plan?" Clary asked, looking straight ahead and not at Jace who was now standing next to Alec. He stretched out an arm in her direction but she dodged him and sat in a chair as far away as possible without feeling excluded from the group.

"Jace will enter by the front, I by the back," Alec began. "If I can gain access to the roof I could cover him better from there."

"Then what?"

"Then as soon as I know Reyna is alive I shot Valentine and his son in the head," Jace said through gritted teeth. "I won't miss."

"And if Reyna's already dead?" Clary argued.

"The outcome doesn't change, but I'll make him suffer before I kill him," Jace answered, turning his head to his wife. He tried to decipher her emotions but her face didn't betray any.

"Are you seriously going alone?" Maia insisted. "You have a whole department behind you, isn't it just reckless to go alone?"

"Reckless is his middle name," Clary sighed.

"It would be if it weren't William," Jace smiled in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. It didn't work.

Alec rolled his eyes and dug his elbow in his ribcage, causing him to wince as pain from his fresh injuries shot up. Clary sighed, shooting him a murderous glare before standing up and leaving the room without her word, her heels echoing in the hallway as she walked away. Jace took off after her.

"Clary!"

She continued to walk. She wasn't sure she remembered how she had gotten there but she couldn't stand it anymore; she needed to be as far from this place as possible. She was going to lose the most important thing in her life. It was a certainty. And no matter what she said, she knew nothing would change Jace's mind.

"Clary!" he yelled again, grabbing the sleeve of her dress.

She inhaled deeply before turning around. Her emerald eyes were gleaming with tears. "What?" she whispered. She didn't know why she was crying: anger, fear, desperation. She was lost in a hurricane of unwanted emotions that had each grabbed onto a part of her and wouldn't let go.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb and she fell into his arms, tears flooding her face.

"It's going to be okay," he promised.

"Please don't go." She tilted her chin up and looked at him. "I can't lose you."

"You won't," he said.

"Please, usually your overconfidence is sexy, now is just annoying," she muttered, trying not to laugh as he flashed her one of the crooked grin she loved so much. "It's suicide."

"I'm going to have the whole CIA backing me up," Jace began, "how could it be suicide?"

"I don't think you realize how much they hate you," Clary argued. "Valentine and Jonathan. Don't underestimate them."

"I'm not," Jace assured her. "And with Alec, it's practically a done deal. Do you know he's the best sniper of the country?" He added, hoping he would comfort her.

"I just want to go home," she said as he wiped a tear from her eyes. "I want Izzy and Si and Mags to come home. I want to know that my family is going to be okay. I want things to be back to the way they were."

"I know honey," Jace kissed the top of her head. "It'll all be over soon."

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><p><em>R&amp;R people! =)<em>


	26. Time to choose, Jace Herondale

_Here's the second one tonight ! It's 1 a.m and I had a long day so I'm going to bed^^_

_It would be awesome if I woke up to some review ;)_

_Enjoy, Lilly_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-five: Time to choose, Jace Herondale<strong>

It looked like an ordinary warehouse: scrap metal and junk everywhere, smashed windows, discolored red bricks, abandoned cars some of which had been set on fire , torn up fences and a half-missing roof. Jace walked carefully but with assurance to the entry.

"Jace can you hear me?" Alec's voice burst in the earpiece.

He winced. "I can hear you fine, you don't need to shout." He said through gritted teeth, lips moving so slightly that it just looked like he was breathing through his mouth.

"Jace?" Jules' voice was much softer. "Clary's at the safe house, Jordan took her home. So focus. That goes for you too Alexander. Aline contacted the island, Magnus, Simon and your sister are all okay and very eager to come home. Save Reyna and finish Valentine and Jonathan and everyone that gets in your way."

"Copy that," Jace said and the shadow of a smile perked up on his lips.

He stepped over the threshold and into the warehouse. He spotted Reyna immediately. She was sitting on a metal chair in the center of the room, her face resting on her chest and hands tied up behind her back, the orange of the setting sun casting an oddly dark light on her bruised features through the dirt covered shattered windows of the high ceiling. She wasn't moving, and her torn shirt was covered in blood stains, most of which were probably coming from her bleeding nose but her chest was falling and rising. She was breathing. All the muscles of his body told him to run to her, but Jace knew Valentine better than anyone and since Reyna was alive and in seemingly good shape, the urgency was not as great.

"Valentine?" Jace called, looking up at the roof where a shadow had caught his eye.

"I'm all set," Alec informed him. "Good eye," he added, when Jace slightly nodded in his direction.

"Okay Jace, everyone is in place," Hodge said. "If things go south, don't play the hero and do something dumb, just call the cavalry in."

"Do you see Reyna?" Jules asked.

"Yes," he murmured. "She's fine." He heard her sigh in relief.

Valentine stepped out of the shadow then, followed by Jonathan who had a cruel smile on his lips. He was playing with what appeared to be the point of a dagger as they were approaching Jace.

"Jonathan, what a pleasure," Valentine said. "I'm glad you could join us today," he added. He slowed down near Reyna, bent down and inhaled her gray-streaked blond hair, his fingers lightly caressing the softness of it.

"Let's cut the crap, shall we?" Jace said.

"I'm going to _cut the crap_ out of you," Jonathan replied. "And maybe I'll feed your insides to your wife."

"Jonathan," Valentine warned, straightening up. "Patience, remember?"

"Fine," he rolled his eyes.

"Do you know what this place reminds me of?" he asked Jace who shrugged. Four men entered the warehouse behind him and he could hear the riffles, guns and other automatic weapons in the heaviness of their steps.

Jace shook his head. He didn't really care. "There are five of them," Aline and Alec said at the same time. "I can only take out three," Alec added.

"It resembles the place we first met," Valentine continued. "The day I chose to trust you. Mistake I won't make again."

Two of the armed men grabbed Jace's arms. "Do you want me to take them out?" Alec asked.

Jace shook his head. "No need for your baboons to be so rough," Jace said with a sly smile. "I'm not armed."

"Copy that," Alec said.

"You're even more stupid than I thought," Jonathan said.

"One more word from you Morgenstern and I'll make you eat your teeth," Jace threatened him. "I was doing my job," he then said, turning to Valentine. "Unlike you, I still believe in something."

"You know there was a point when I wasn't looking for you because I wanted to end your miserable life, but because I wanted you and Alexander to join me," Valentine said as his goons sat Jace on a chair facing Reyna, guarded him on each sides.

"Thanks but I'm not interested," Jace said.

"The offer expired anyway," Valentine retorted. "Too bad. We would have made an excellent team."

"I like my teams on the _winning_ side."

"Don't be too cocky," Alec scolded at Jace. "If you move about two feet forward, I think I can have them all in my line of fire."

Jace took his chair by the seat and settled closer to Valentine. "What did she find in you?" Jonathan asked, standing next to his father. "Why does she love you much?"

Jace was on him before his brain registered the movements he made to reach him. He vaguely heard valentine shot an order to his guards and the sounds of bullets shattering glass, his hands on the ground as she swiftly knocked Jonathan off balance. He broke his fall but Jace's reflexes were more acute and he heard another shatter as the strength of his feet broke the bones of Jonathan's nose. He snarled but Jace only smirked, as he turned and grabbed his neck. The pressure was hard enough so he couldn't move or struggle but not so hard that he lost consciousness.

"Move and I'll break your neck," Jace said. "Same goes if he you mention Clary."

He looked up. Five bodies were sprawled out on the ground, a clear hole in each head. "Nice job," he whispered and he swore he could hear Alec roll his eyes.

"I think you should let him go," Valentine said.

"And why would I do "

Jace froze.

Valentine was standing behind the corpses, a smile on his lips and in his dark eyes. He was holding two guns, one Alec's head. He had cut and abrasions on his face, and was leaning on his left leg, a large shard of glass protruding from the right one. The other one was-

"Clary," Jace whispered horrified.

"Shit!" Hodge exclaimed. "How is it poss- Jules?!"

"Get Jordan on the line," He heard her shout through Hodge's office. "Jace?" she called but he wasn't listening.

Clary's hair was still damp with water. Her eyes were wide with fear and confusion as she stared at him.

"Let them go," he ordered. Valentine laughed.

"It's not the way it works," he answered. "You know that, don't you?" He articulated every word, feigning a sad look, the way an adult teaching a child about rules might have.

Jace loosened his hold on Jonathan who was laughing, his voice a hoarse croak. "Let my son go," Valentine ordered in turn. Jace's mind was racing. He knew he needed the leverage but this was Clary and Alec. This was his family. He couldn't take any risk.

He took a step back, releasing Jonathan. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Jonathan wiped his bloody nose with the back on a hand. He growled at Jace and punched him in the face.

"Jace!" Clary yelled.

"Shut up," Valentine snapped.

"Let them go," Jace repeated, his cheek red although it wasn't bleeding.

"You're going to have to make a choice Jace," Valentine said. "Your brother. For all intent and purposes anyway," he began and pressed the barrel of the first gun against his temple. "Or your wife."

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><p><em>R&amp;R and fav' and follow, it's really easy^^<em>


	27. What the world doesn't need is you

_Last chapter =D Just enjoy, _

_Lilly_

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Six: What the world doesn't need is you, Valentine Morgenstern<strong>

Jordan switched the light on and made way for Clary to enter. She tried to smile at him but the knot in her stomach wouldn't let her. She was too tired and too scared to keep up appearances. How could she ever smile when Jace was about to face Valentine and Jonathan? The dangling light bulb on the ceiling cast shadows on the floor and against the four walls. The room was small and empty of all furniture and without any windows, and the cracking pale blue-ish paint had started turning yellow. There was only one other door which she assumed was the bathroom.

"I know it's not very glamorous but at least it's safe," Jordan assured her, gently patting her back before he set the bags down.

"_Safe_," she quietly repeated. The words didn't mean anything to her anymore. She took a deep breath, repressing tears she had been holding back for days.

"Jace is going to be okay," Jordan said. "He's the best at what he does."

At the mention of Jace, Clary instinctively brought her fingers to her lips, where he had kissed her before Jules had ordered Jordan to take her away. She hadn't had time to tell him she loved him, to ask him to come home, to come back to her. She had just stared with teary eyes as she was pulled away. What if he didn't make it back?

"Clary!"

She shook her head and her eyes focused on Jordan who was unfolding an air mattress in one corner.

"Sorry," she apologized. "What did you say?"

"I just asked what you wanted to do, you know, to pass the time," Jordan smiled.

She felt her cheeks flushed, and smiled at the memory of Jace asking her the exact question a few times, although her usual answer wouldn't fit the situation.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "What do you propose?"

"For starters, you could move away from the door," Jordan suggested.

"I'm not sure I can move at all," Clary confessed, feeling as if two anchors had been tied to her feet and thrown right under her.

Jordan stood up and held Clary by the shoulders.

"Clary, listen to me very carefully, okay?"

She didn't answer and continued staring at the floor.

"Clary, look at me," Jordan asked. He lifted her chin and gazed up at him through thick lashes. "Jace will be just fine. He has Alec and the whole DPD to back him up. I want you to say it."

"I can't."

"Come on, I've been told that you're a lot stronger than you look."

"Jace," she began, her lips trembling. "Jace will be fine?"

"Now say it like you mean it."

Clary took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She realized that if so many people believed in him, she should too. Hell, she was his wife; she should be the first to believe in him. And without an ounce of hesitation she said: "Jace is going to be just fine."

**xXx**

"Clary! Wake up! Clary!"

She bolted upright, her eyes flickering open. The light was even worse than before and she squinted to see past the shadows. After a few seconds, the image of a stranger came into focus. She sprang back, standing flat against the wall. She looked hectically around for Jordan, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead, a man was crouched at her bedside, looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face. He was short and almost bald, with small narrowed eyes and thin lips. She was certain she had never seen him before.

"Who are you?" She cried. "Don't come any closer."

"My name is Archibald Aldertree. I work with your husband." He flashed her his badge.

"How can I know you're not lying?"

"There is no time!"

"Where's Jordan? I want to speak to him!" Clary said.

"Jace is in the hospital," Aldertree said.

Clary froze. "What? Is he okay? What happened?"

"I'll answer all your questions on the way to St Benjamin's, let's go!" He urged her.

Clary grabbed her shoes and followed the short man in the long corridors of the building. She wondered what time it was and how long she had dozed off after Jordan had let her win every card game they'd played, but the overwhelming feeling of relief she was experiencing, seemed to have drowned her brain in an sweet euphoria. Jace was alive. It was finally over. Nothing else mattered. Certainly not the time. Once they were out, Aldertree rushed her into the backseat of a black car and climbed on the passenger side.

"What "

"Hello Clary."

Clary's blood turned into ice in her veins as she watched Jonathan Morgenstern climbed on the seat next to her, slamming the car door shut behind him.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head in terror as she reached for the handle of the car which was already locked.

He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her closer to him. She tried to squirm away but he was too strong. He pressed his lips against her mouth and she bit him, which only made his smile widen.

"To the warehouse," he ordered the driver, his arm wrapped around Clary's shoulder as if they were a couple on their way to a nice restaurant as the engine roared to life and the driver pulled the car into New York City's traffic.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To say goodbye to your husband," Jonathan said with a weary smile. "For good."

**xXx**

Jace wasn't easily frightened and he didn't respond well to threats. His training made torturing information out of him futile, and although he was incredibly impulsive and impatient, he could sweet-talk his way out of every situation.

But when his eyes met Valentine's, he knew that he had no other choice but choose. If he called in the cavalry, Valentine would kill them both. If he tried to stop him, Valentine would kill them both. If he didn't choose, Valentine would kill them both.

And at that moment, Jace realized that he wasn't that special. He was like any other agent. _Find his weakness and I'll make him dance_.

"Tic tac Jace," Valentine pressed.

"I can't," Jace whispered so low that he wasn't sure Valentine could hear him at all.

"What was that?" He asked, a smiled growing even wider on his lips.

"I can't choose," Jace repeated.

"If you don't, I'll have to kill them both, obviously," he answered with a pout.

His eyes met Alec and his brother shook his head slightly. Jace would never forgive himself if he lost him. On the other hand, he knew he wouldn't forgive himself if he lost Clary. It was like being pulled on both sides.

"Take me instead," Jace pleaded. "I'll do-"

"I'm not interested in bargaining with you," Valentine interrupted, dismissing Jace's unfinished offer with a wave of the hand. "Now I'm going to give you a minute to decide. If you don't…"

Jace looked at Clary. She was standing straight, her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around herself. He frowned but when she opened her eyes, he could see that she was ready.

"Thirty seconds."

Ready to die for him. She wasn't shaking, or crying, or begging. She was strong.

"Twenty."

Their eyes met. Her lips parted and he could read as they slowly mouthed an _I love you_. He knew that look. She was going to do something stupid.

"Ten. Nine. Eight. Sev-"

"Jace," Alec warned him.

"Five. Four. Three."

"It's okay," Clary gently whispered.

"Two."

"Dad," Jonathan said, uncertain whether his dad was bluffing or not.

"One."

"Stop!" Jace shouted.

Valentine smiled. "I'm listening."

Jace took one last breath. "I choose "

"No!"

Out of nowhere, Reyna threw herself on Valentine, tackling him to the ground, dragging Alec, who could barely stand on his good leg, down with him. He lost his grip on one of the guns, and it slid at Clary's feet. She looked at it and picked it up. Jace blinked quickly but Jonathan was already running toward him. He dodged him and walked to Valentine. He was fighting off Reyna, a large cut bleeding all over his forehead, and Alec had kicked the other gun away from them. Jace pushed Reyna, and grabbed Valentine by his graying hair. His knee met Valentine's nose in a sickening crack that echoed through the warehouse, with his screams. Clary hurried next to Reyna and helped her up, dragging her outside of the warehouse before rushing back inside. Valentine was on Jace pushing a knife toward his chest. There was a cut on Jace's cheek. She looked around bewildered. Alec was on the floor, probably unconscious from the blood lost. Her eyes met Jonathan's and as he got back on his feet she saw him smile. She quickly turned back to Jace and Valentine, lifting the gun up and toward them. Her hand was shaking and she steadied it with the other aiming as best as she could as her husband's attacker. Slowly she pulled the security off and took a few deep breaths. She was about to pull the trigger when she was tackled to the ground.

"Clary! No!" Jace screamed.

He was silenced by a shot. Valentine's head snapped up and Jace took the opportunity to reverse the knife and plunged it into his chest. Valentine cried out and fell on his back. Jace jumped on his feet and for a few seconds he was frozen with fear. It had a grip on his heart and wouldn't let go.

Jonathan was lying on top of her, motionless. Clary, too, wasn't moving and a pool of blood was starting to form on the ground next to them, making it impossible to see whom it belonged to.

"Clary," he whispered, and finding strength, he walked up to them and pushed Jonathan off of her. He quickly looked at Jonathan's body and sighed in relief when he saw the whole in his stomach. Jace then kneeled next to Clary's body. She was lying still, her hands firmly clenched around the gun, her clothes covered in Jonathan's blood. Jace took her pulse and closed his eyes for a brief moment. He cleaned up the blood on her face, and settled her head on his knees.

"Sweetie, wake up," Jace gently asked. "Come on."

Her chest was rising and falling unevenly and Clary gasped as if life had been blown back into her body, fidgeting her hands in the air as she fought an invisible assailant.

"No! Don't hurt me!" she cried.

"Clary, honey, it's me," Jace said, catching her hands. "It's okay. Look, it's me."

She looked up. "Jace," she softly whispered, freeing one of her hands so she could touch his face.

"It's over n " he said.

"I love you," she blurted out and he smiled his crooked smile her favorite.

"I love you too," he said and kissed her forehead. Her fingertips rested on the fresh cut on his cheek. "Don't worry, it'll go away."

She nodded. He helped her up and she looked at Jonathan, lying dead on the floor with his black eyes open, watching her. She buried her face in Jace's shoulder.

"He can't hurt you anymore," Jace said.

"I killed him," she murmured.

"I'm sorry you had to do that but believe me it's for the best."

"I know," Clary said.

"Can you stand?" Jace asked. "I need to see if Alec's ok "

Before he could finish, Valentine, finding the little amount of strength he had left, stood up and charged toward chest.

"JONATHAN!" he shouted, his face red with blood and rage.

Jace gently pushed Clary aside, and when Valentine entered his range, threw him a roundhouse kick right into the knife he had already planted into his chest. Valentine staggered back, both hands around the knife and collapsed on his knees.

"Clary, go check on Alec!" Jace ordered.

"O Okay," Clary stuttered.

Jace bent down to Valentine's eye level and whispered in his ear: "You lose." He twisted to knife and took a step sideways letting Valentine fall on the ground. Jace took a deep breath. That was it. Valentine was dead.

"Alec needs to go a hospital!" Clary shouted. "He lost a lot of blood."

Jace rushed up to them. Alec was breathing heavily and could barely keep his blue eyes open.

"We did it," Jace said with a smile and Alec smiled back at him. "Valentine and Jonathan Morgenstern are dead. It's over."

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><p><em>Hey!<em>

_I hope you liked it! I just wanted to say thank you to you all for your reviews and all the followers of Catching Fire, who stuck with me and this story to the end! _

_Don't worry there is still the Epilogue which I'll post before the end of the week. _

_For the last time: read, review, and fav! _

_Xo Lilly_


	28. New beginnings

**Epilogue : New beginnings **

The air was hot and dry and Alec was struggling to keep his eyes open. He kept running his hand through his damp hair, nervously adjusting the blue scarf Magnus had bought him around his neck, buttoning and unbuttoning the two top buttons on his white shirt, wondering if after all the black blazer would have maybe been a better match than the navy he was wearing. He anxiously checked his watch and looked up at the clear blue sky, wobbling on his crutches. He glanced at his leg, enveloped in a cast that went up to his knee and sighed. He hated the limitations of having only one good leg to lean on.

But he was also grateful. Had Jace and Clary not reacted this fast and he would probably have been dead. Alec had lost a lot of blood when the CIA paramedics finally arrived after twenty minutes of being in and out of consciousness, waiting for the pain to stop, and he had been rushed into surgery at the nearest hospital. He had trouble remembering exactly what had happened after Reyna had lurched upon Valentine and he had collapsed on the hard cement floor, but some flashes of memory still came to him. He remembered Clary's face leaning over him and gently stroking his hair, her face dirty with sweat and dried blood, heard Jace's voice annoyingly recalling the events -probably to Jules or Hodge, heard his own throat-constricted voice as he tried to speak but couldn't.

"It's okay," Clary had reassured him. "We're almost there."

He had reached for her hand and she had held it with both of hers. They were shaking. He was glad she was there. Jace wasn't much of a comforting presence, not when it came to him anyway.

Alec swallowed, and took a step back in the shadow of the hangar. He could not believe he was so nervous to see him again. It felt like their first date all over again: the knot in his stomach, the feeling of being watched and laughed at, the cold sweat down his neck, the tensed smile and hammering heart. He pushed the anxiety away and watched the plane land as the earth trembled under his feet. He patiently waited for the aircraft to come to a halt and watched the airfield staff deploy the ladder in the front of the plane. He took a deep breath and couldn't help but smile as his eyes met Magnus'.

He was wearing the most ridiculous Hawaiian shirt and flower necklace, his hands full with shopping bags. He waved frenetically and raced down the few steps and ran to Alec, discarding the bags without a second look. Alec cursed the crutches again as he hurried toward his boyfriend, who didn't seem to notice he was incapacitated as his threw himself on him. Alec took a step back as one the crutches fell and he tried to steady, his free arm encircling Magnus' waist as he buried his face in his neck, inhaling the sweet and spicy scent of him. He could feel his hands everywhere: on his back and neck, in his hair, on his-

"Magnus!" Alec said softly, and he pulled him back slightly so he could see his shiny face contorted into the naughty smile, he had -against his better judgment- fell irrevocably in love with. He realized then how much he had missed everything about his man: his hair spiked on the top of his head with blue glitter, the sharpness of his emerald gaze, the crazy outfits —Hawaiian shirts and ivory linen pants were an amusing contrast with the black eyeliner— and the softness of his hands. Alec stroked his cheek with a thumb.

One of Magnus' eyebrows shot up. "What's wrong?"

"You have no idea how much I missed you," Alec whispered, closing the space between them, his lips crushing hungrily against Magnus'.

"I'm starting to get a sense of it," he replied when they broke the kiss, gasping for air. He nibbled on Alec's lower lip before whispering in his ear: "BTW: I like what you're wearing. It's going to be very fun to take it off."

"What the hell happened to you?!"

Startled and rosy cheeked, Alec gently pushed Magnus to see his sister standing in front of him, his missing crutch in the hand that wasn't on her hip. Isabelle was looking rested, all sun-kissed skin, black plait on her one shoulder, and floral dress. The bump that was her pregnant belly seemed to be bigger than he remembered -not that he would ever dare to mention it ever. Magnus looked back and forth at the two Lightwood siblings before gasping when he noticed the cast.

"Oh my god!" He ripped it out of Isabelle's hands and helped Alec up.

"It's okay," Alec assured them both. He walked up to her, closely guarded by Magnus who was ready to catch him if he were to fall. He rolled his eyes.

"It's more annoying than anything," he said with a small smile and hugged her, careful not to press her too hard. She kissed his cheek, and he kissed her forehead.

"What stupid thing did Jace enroll you into this time?" She asked.

"Long story," Alec sighed, he turned to shake Simon's hand. "I'll tell you later."

"It's good to be home!" Simon exclaimed, wrapping his arm around Izzy's waist.

"Let's go, the car is out front," Alec said.

"Where are Jace and Clary?"

"They're upstate, visiting Clary's parents," he answered.

"So they're okay?" Isabelle whispered in relief. "Good."

"So what now?" Simon asked. "Are we still in danger?"

"Can't you just enjoy being home for five minutes honey?" Izzy retorted. "Besides Alec and Jace –and the whole freaking CIA- wouldn't bring us back if it wasn't safe. Right?" She turned her head to Alec.

"Right." He nodded.

"Idris was kind of awesome," Magnus said, looping his arms through Alec's who almost lost his balance. "Longest vacation ever."

"And we stopped on Honolulu on our way back," Isabelle added, curling the flower necklace around her finger. "Beautiful beaches. I mean not as beautiful as Idris' but beautiful."

"Idris is an isolated island where the only beach is surrounded by a thick tropical jungle and we lived in a huge house of wood and glass located directly on said beach. Of course it was better," Simon reasoned.

"After a while, I kind of miss the malls though," she confessed.

"I think you had your revenge," Alec countered, pointing at all the bags surrounding them.

"What?!" Isabelle pouted. "I'm having a baby!"

"We're having a baby," Simon corrected. Izzy rolled her eyes.

Alec smiled and Magnus shook his head. "I'm glad to be home."

**xXx**

Clary was trying to control the palpitation of her heart, which was beating unevenly. She stood, petrified on the porch of the house she grew up in, dizzy from overthinking what she was about to do. She smoothed a wrinkle on her denim dress and took a deep breath. She felt a slight tingle when Jace wrapped his hand around her waist. He kissed her temple.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"I can't lie to my parents' faces," she whispered.

"You have to," Jace replied.

Clary looked up and felt her heart tighten in her chest. His face was composed as usual but his gold eyes were sad. He didn't want her to have to do this. He hated himself for everything that had happened since the return of Valentine Morgenstern to New York City.

The weeks following the events at the warehouse had ben really intense for them, but especially for Jace. They had spent hours at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, retelling over and over what had exactly happened in front of the whole administration of the Agency. Although they questioned the way Jace and Alec had handled the whole mission, they could not possibly denied the results: Valentine Morgenstern and his son were dead, the Pangborn brothers would be judged to the full extent of the law -which for Emil and Anson meant life in prison without parole. The director, Henry Branwell, a tall, red-headed man with the most peculiar vest-tie association, had then congratulated Alec and Jace for "the service to their countries" and thanked Clary for her reactivity. After psychological evaluations, they finally let them go back to the Big Apple, with a few weeks of holidays to recuperate from all the stress. Upon their return, Jace convinced Clary to go see a therapist and they decided to move out of the penthouse. They all needed to start anew. They found a lovely townhouse in a typical Upper West Side brownstone and Alec bought the one next door as a present for Magnus' return from Idris.

The last step was to talk to her parents, whom she hadn't heard from since the shooting on the roof.

"Everything is going to be okay, sweetheart," Jace assured as he stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Clary nodded and inhaled deeply, tightening her clammy grip of her husband's hand. The door flew open and she was pulled inside and into her father's arms before she could even open her mouth.

"Oh baby!" Luke whimpered in her fiery hair. Clary hugged him as hard as she could, her nose tickled by the smell of his aftershave and his warmth stopped her shivering. "Jocelyn!" he called from the door. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

They sat in the living room. Clary had crossed her legs on the old sofa, one parent on both sides while Tabitha was comfortable in Jace's lap. Jocelyn gently stroked her daughter's hair while Clary explained what had happened -or at least the version designed by Simonetta Cartwright, Director Branwell's second in command. Clary was an awful liar and even with training, she wasn't sure the story would hold. Jace looked at her while she explained how the attack had been a mistake and that the shooters' real targets were soon after apprehended by the police, interjecting here and there with details she had forgotten or correcting her when she didn't make sense.

"What about the team that was in charge of protecting us?" Luke asked with a frown.

"They were contacts of Jace's," Clary said.

"What a story," Jocelyn declared.

"I know," she agreed. "But it's over now."

"Slow down," Luke stopped her.

_Shit_, she thought as her heart started racing again.

"It's been almost two months, where the hell have you been?!" He asked.

"Figuring things out?" Clary sputtered.

"We needed to get away," Jace clarified.

"Well, you had your mother and I worried sick," Luke said in a grave voice and Clary blushed deeply.

"Sorry."

"I'm just glad you're safe, honey," Jocelyn said with a smile.

"Thanks mom," Clary whispered, resting her head on her mother's shoulder.

"I'm glad you're okay too," said Tabitha in a small voice. Clary's head snapped up, and she watched how peaceful her little sister looked, perched on Jace, her light brown hair falling in curls on her shoulders. Clary quickly stood, crossed the small space -climbing over the coffee table- and hugged her sister.

"I love you Tab," she said. "You have no idea how much I love you."

"I love you too." She settled her sister down before kissing her cheeks. Her eyes met Jace's and she smiled. "I'm hungry!" Tabitha exclaimed.

The adults laughed.

"I'll get the cake," Jocelyn said, standing up.

"What cake?" Clary frowned.

"I'd like a piece," Jace ventured.

"Tab and I decided to start baking more often," Jocelyn explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Luke grumbled. "Forcing me to hit the gym four times a week."

"You know I love you no matter what you look like," Jocelyn assured him and winked.

Clary grabbed her mother's arm before she left the room. "I have something to say to all of you."

"Can't it wait five seconds?"

"It could," Clary admitted. "But I don't want to."

"Okay, honey." Jocelyn sat back down next to Luke who was holding Tabitha.

Jace was frowning, staring at her from the armchair. She took a deep breath.

"Honey you scaring me," Luke said.

Clary rolled her eyes and her eyes rested on Jace's quizzical expression with a smile. "I'm pregnant," she said very matter-of-factly.

Jace's jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"Yeah!" Tabitha cried.

"Honey!" Jocelyn exclaimed, jumping to her feet. She hugged her daughter.

"I'm gonna be a grandfather?" Luke asked, slightly horrified. "I'm too young to be Grandpa Luke."

"Forget the gym and eat the cakes, you'll look like Grandpa Luke in a flash," Jocelyn teased.

Clary nodded before turning to Jace who hadn't move. She froze. "Jace?"

She knelt next to him and put a hand on his cheek. "Are you in shock?" She asked in disbelief. She had never seen Jace shocked —surprised maybe but shocked, nope.

"Jace!" She exclaimed and his golden eyes snapped into focus.

"I'm going to be a dad?" He repeated in a soft whisper.

"The best there is," Clary assured him.

He stood up and held out his hand, lifting her off the ground and she rested a hand on his hammering heart with a smile and kissed him.

"I love you," he whispered, looking in the emerald of her eyes. "Both of you."

**xXx**

Clary and Maia were lying on their backs in the middle of the little empty room, on the sheet of plastic covering the hardwood floor.

"Wow," Maia marveled. Her head swirling as she tried to look at the whole room at one.

It had taken almost a month for Clary to finish it but there it was. Killian's room was perfect. A midnight starry sky covered every inch of the ceiling, the moon a gentle presence in a corner under which Maia planned on putting her baby boy's crib. After weeks of debates and arguments, the girls, who had become good friends, had settled on a clear meadow for the four walls. Clary had gone a little off script but the result was breathtaking. Two majestic wolves were leaning over a baby cub, resting on a patch of jade green patch of grass, the shadow of a forest lining the background. The slender wolf was unmistakably Maia, the warm brown of her fur and of her eyes, trimmed with long human-like lashes, given her away. Next to her, tall and imposing was wolf-Jordan, all muscles and dark fur and hazel-green gentle eyes. He was licking wolf-Maia's ear. Snuggled up against them was wolf-Killian, with his light brown coat, howling at the moon above.

"I left some space for wolf-Killian's future brothers and sisters," Clary said, a hand gently resting on her showing belly, the other tucked behind her head.

"I love it Clary, thank you," Maia whispered, her voice coat in her throat.

"Please don't cry," Clary begged. "With my crazy hormone levels, if you start crying I'll join you."

"Okay," Maia said, quickly wiping out a tear. "Now the apartment is really perfect."

"I'm glad you like it," Clary said.

Maia patted her shoulder and sat up. "You're staying for dinner?"

"Sure," Clary accepted. "But I need to tinkle first."

She struggled to stand up and Maia snickered. "That's not funny!" Clary exclaimed. "And let me tell you that the guy that said pregnant women looked sexy in overalls obviously didn't have to pie every five minutes."

**xXx**

Jace had never known that sort of anxiety. He knew how pressure, pain, relief and desire felt but not anxiety and desperation, the heart-gripping angst that being there caused him, was way more than he could handle.

He was pacing relentlessly up and down the room, the cup, that was filled with steaming coffee a moment ago, was crushed in his hand and every breath he took was short and throat-constricting. Alec put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked up at him.

"She's going to be fine," he said, articulating every syllable. "Calm down, you're making everyone nervous."

"I should be in there with her," he replied, running a hand through his golden hair.

"Trust me, she doesn't want you in there," Simon retorted, with a grimace, holding little Amelia in his arms. The dark haired baby girl was sound asleep. "And you don't want to be in there either. Some things you just cannot forget." He shivered.

"Jace."

Stephen Herondale's voice was grave and husky and it caught the attention of all the patients or family, waiting in the room. He stood up from the uncomfortable plastic chair grabbed his son by the shoulders. The Herondale boys looked a lot like one another, but Stephen's eyes were cerulean blue and gentle.

"Listen to Al', Clary's okay."

"I know, but the thought of her in pain-"

"You'll understand once you're in that room. Then the pain won't matter anymore. To her or you."

"Thanks dad."

Stephen's patted his son's back before turning to Simon and little Mia. Alec frowned and looked around. "Guys? Where's Magnus?"

"He's cooing over newborns in the maternity aisle," Maia said, strolling inside the waiting room with fresh coffees in her hands. "He looked like a crazy person."

The room was small and the air stuffy. The light was too bright and there were way too many people inside. But none of it mattered, because when Jace set foot in Clary's hospital room, he only saw her, and the small bundle of joy she was carefully holding. He took another step and Clary looked up. She was beaming with bliss, her green eyes sparkling with happiness and her red hair a sun-like crown around her face. She looked exhausted and cheeks were flushed but she never looked more beautiful to him.

"Hey," she said and he bent over to give her a kiss. She smiled and his eyes lowered onto the small baby she was holding. His baby. He was perfect, with his tiny hands raised next to his round face. His son. Jace couldn't speak. He just looked at him and then his son opened his eyes and he stared up at Jace with Clary's eyes.

"So do you think he looks like a _Jem_ Herondale?" Isabelle asked.

"He's perfect," Jace whispered. Clary smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Do you want to hold him?" She asked.

Jace's heart started thumping in his chest. Jem looked so fragile, he was so little. What if he hurt him? What if he dropped him or if he held him badly?

"Honey, it's okay," Céline Herondale said.

Jace looked up at his mother, who nodded encouragingly. Her blond hair was tied in a bun. Jocelyn who was sitting next to Clary also nodded.

"Okay," he said. He felt every eye in the room on his back as Clary gently settled his baby in the crook of his arms. Jem was so light, Jace thought. The cover in which he was wrapped up were probably heavier than himself. He stretched his neck and kissed his son forehead, and when he did, Jace knew that there was nothing he would love more in this world than Jem Alexander Herondale and the woman he had made him with.

**xXx**

Neither Jace nor Alec was expecting this kind of welcome when they entered the Alicante Building after the end of their holidays. Alec was more than happy to go back to work, anything to escape Magnus' new obsession of babies -he knew sooner or later he would cave in. Jace on the other hand was not yet used to being away from Clary and little Jem. They were directed to the office of the new DCS as soon as the new receptionist spotted them.

"Jules's the new DCS?" Alec exclaimed, reading the black letters on the door.

"Looks like it," Jace shrugged.

"Mrs. Moreau will see you now," a fair-haired woman with glasses and bright fuchsia lipstick said. She opened the door and they stepped inside.

"Hey Jules," Jace greeted her, slouching into the nearest chair.

"Jace," Jules sighed but he could see the shadow of a smile playing on her lips. "Alec. Please sit down."

"Congrats on the new job," Alec said.

"Nice office," Jace added.

"Glad to see this vacation didn't change you." She shook her head, her blond ponytail swinging side to side as she did.

"Never," Jace smiled.

"How are Clary and the baby?" She asked.

"Great, thanks."

"Good." She folded her arms on her desk. "As you may know, a few days after the Pangborn brothers gave their testimony, our not-so-dear DCS Archibald Aldertree was charged with treason among other things and is now spending the rest of his miserable life at Ryker's penitentiary with his former allies."

"The director -whom you met "

"Ah yes, great guy," Jace interrupted. "Love the constellations tie. Very classy."

"Asked me to promote you," Jules finished, ignoring Jace and his annoyingly cocky smile.

"What?" Alec said.

"I said no," the DCS declared.

"What?" This time it was Jace.

"I did it for you," she began. "But if you want to spend hours locked up in a room like this one -but smaller- all day, every day until you retire, I can call him back."

Jace and Alec exchanged a meaningful look.

"No thanks," they said in chorus.

"You're welcome. And don't worry, when or if someday you change your mind, I'll be sure to find you a nice office."

"I always knew you had a thing for us, dear Jules," Jace smiled.

"One question and then I'll take him as far away from you as I can," promised Alec. "If they give you Aldertree's job, who took yours?"

Jules opened her mouth but the answer strolled inside his room as she did.

Hodge Starkweather smiled. "Hello boys." Aline was accompanying him. Jace was pleased to see that she had let her natural hair color, a dark brown, erase the fake blond she did not pull well. She was wearing a simple blue shirt with a pencil skirt. He stood up and warmly shook Hodge's hand.

"It's good to see you man."

"You too, son."

"So you're the new head of the DPD?" Alec said.

"Yep and Miss Penhallow here took my place."

"So you'll be the one to take care of us," Jace said. "I like coffee black with one sugar."

"I'm not your assistant Herondale," Aline hissed.

"He's just messing with you," Alec said. "I think."

"I know that, Lightwood," Aline replied. Jace laughed.

"So why are we all here?" he asked.

Jules stood up and joined their small circle.

"I'm creating a new team," she explained. "As new head of the DPD and because he knows you better than anyone here, Hodge will vote your missions from now on."

Hodge respectfully nodded. Jules carried on: "Aline will be your liaison and will run point. And as for the other members of your team..."

Two knocks on the door interrupted her. The fuchsia-lipstick girl opened the door. Jordan and Sebastian came in.

"Your timing's perfect," Hodge said. Jordan shook everyone's hand. Sebastian waved and stood awkwardly near Aline, who smiled and looked up at him with twinkling eyes.

"So here they are," Jules said. "Verlac has proven himself to be much more valuable on the field than eating donuts at his desk and monitoring criminals and Agent Kyle decided to transfer from counter-terrorism to the DPD. You already know each other I believe?"

"Our wife are friends," Jordan explained.

"And I can make it work with Sebastian over there," Jace added. "Good work on the Pangborns by the way."

"Thanks Agent Herondale," Sebastian said.

"After everything we've all been through, Jace's fine."

"Good. Jace, Alec you'll be the team leaders," Jules said. "You have carte blanche. I want a full report after each mission -failed or succeeded. Is that understood?"

"There won't be any failed mission," Jace said.

"What Jace's arrogance wanted to say," Alec clarified, "is 'Yes ma'am'."

Jace snorted.

"Okay well, have you heard of Axel Mortmain?" Hodge asked, as Aline handed the files she'd been carrying.

Jace shook his head.

"French arms dealer," Jordan said. "I've seen his face before."

"Yes, he's been working with Alexei de Quincey, a Russian aristocrat," Hodge continued.

"Isn't he the guy who bought a bath tub entirely made of gold?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, that's him," Aline said.

"Crazy bastard." Alec shook his head.

"Over the last few weeks, they have been communicated on a daily basis; we're not sure what about."

"But probably not about the gold washstand to match the tub," Jace smiled. Alec rolled his eyes.

"You're going to Russia," Aline declared and Jace's mouth fell. "To figure out what do they want with each other. All four of you."

"You must be joking? Russia?"

"Your plane for Moscow leaves in two hours," she added. "I hope you have a good coat."

"Welcome back."

* * *

><p><em>Hey guyyys! <em>

_I'm so excited and so sad at the same time! It's over! Sorry for the extra-long wait for this Epilogue but as I'm sure you've noticed it's pretty long ^^I just didn't want to let go I guess. _

_I want to take a minute to remind everyone that I don't own any of the characters (okay except for Tabitha Graymark, Amelia (Mia) Lewis, Jem Herondale, Jules Moreau, Tatiana Pangborn and probably a few others) they belong to Cassandra Clare._

_I also want to thank every person who reviewed, read, fav and followed this story, you're awesome! And don't forget to leave me one last review for the Epilogue or all other chapters of the story. thanks for the encouragement, the ideas, you've giving me the motivation to go all the way^^_

_So, Catching Fire is over, but I'm not! So in the spirit of looking forward I wanted your opinion: dewikaka suggested I write the prequel of this story and I thought it was a good idea. Do you guys want that too? If yes (or no) leave me a message or PM me so I know. _

_If not, I'll start brainstorming about another story featuring our favorite characters (all ideas are welcome). _

_Thank you again! All of you! _

_Love, _

_Lilly _


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